Deuteronomy 28:27

28:27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed.

Job 2:6-7

2:6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, ¹  he is ²  in your power; ³  only preserve ⁴  his life.”

Job’s Integrity in Suffering

2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted ⁵  Job with a malignant ulcer ⁶  from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. ⁷ 

Isaiah 1:6

1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head,

there is no spot that is unharmed. ⁸ 

There are only bruises, cuts,

and open wounds.

They have not been cleansed ⁹  or bandaged,

nor have they been treated ¹⁰  with olive oil. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 3:17

3:17 So ¹²  the sovereign master ¹³  will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women ¹⁴  with skin diseases, ¹⁵ 

the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 3:24

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ¹⁷ 

a rope will replace a belt,

baldness will replace braided locks of hair,

a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,

and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

[2:6]  ¹ tn The particle הִנּוֹ (hinno) is literally, “here he is!” God presents Job to Satan, with the restriction on preserving Job’s life.

[2:6]  ² tn The LXX has “I deliver him up to you.”

[2:6]  ³ tn Heb “hand.”

[2:6]  ⁴ sn The irony of the passage comes through with this choice of words. The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to keep; to guard; to preserve.” The exceptive clause casts Satan in the role of a savior – he cannot destroy this life but must protect it.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn The verb is נָכָה (nakhah, “struck, smote”); it can be rendered in this context as “afflicted.”

[2:7]  ⁶ sn The general consensus is that Job was afflicted with a leprosy known as elephantiasis, named because the rough skin and the swollen limbs are animal-like. The Hebrew word שְׁחִין (shÿkhin, “boil”) can indicate an ulcer as well. Leprosy begins with such, but so do other diseases. Leprosy normally begins in the limbs and spreads, but Job was afflicted everywhere at once. It may be some other disease also characterized by such a malignant ulcer. D. J. A. Clines has a thorough bibliography on all the possible diseases linked to this description (Job [WBC], 48). See also HALOT 1460 s.v. שְׁחִין.

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “crown.”

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “there is not in it health”; NAB “there is no sound spot.”

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “pressed out.”

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “softened” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “soothed.”

[1:6]  ¹¹ sn This verse describes wounds like those one would receive in battle. These wounds are comprehensive and without remedy.

[3:17]  ¹² tn In the Hebrew text vv. 16-17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk…, the sovereign master will afflict….” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.

[3:17]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[3:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the daughters of Zion.”

[3:17]  ¹⁵ tn Or “a scab” (KJV, ASV); NIV, NCV, CEV “sores.”

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV, CEV). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:139, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”

[3:24]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and it will be in place of spices there will be a stench.” The nouns for “spices” and “stench” are right next to each other in the MT for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.