Ezekiel 32:21

32:21 The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’

Job 3:13-15

3:13 For now ¹  I would be lying down

and ²  would be quiet, ³ 

I would be asleep and then at peace ⁴ 

3:14 with kings and counselors of the earth

who built for themselves places now desolate, ⁵ 

3:15 or with princes who possessed gold, ⁶ 

who filled their palaces ⁷  with silver.

Isaiah 14:18-19

14:18 ⁸ As for all the kings of the nations,

all of them ⁹  lie down in splendor, ¹⁰ 

each in his own tomb. ¹¹ 

14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave

like a shoot that is thrown away. ¹² 

You lie among ¹³  the slain,

among those who have been slashed by the sword,

among those headed for ¹⁴  the stones of the pit, ¹⁵ 

as if you were a mangled corpse. ¹⁶ 

[3:13]  ¹ tn The word עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) may have a logical nuance here, almost with the idea of “if that had been the case…” (IBHS 667-68 §39.3.4f). However, the temporal “now” is retained in translation since the imperfect verb following two perfects “suggests what Job’s present state would be if he had had the quiet of a still birth” (J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 95, n. 23). Cf. GKC 313 §106.p.

[3:13]  ² tn The copula on the verb indicates a sequence for the imperfect: “and then I would….” In the second half of the verse it is paralleled by “then.”

[3:13]  ³ tn The text uses a combination of the perfect (lie down/sleep) and imperfect (quiet/rest). The particle עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) gives to the perfect verb its conditional nuance. It presents actions in the past that are not actually accomplished but seen as possible (GKC 313 §106.p).

[3:13]  ⁴ tn The last part uses the impersonal verb “it would be at rest for me.”

[3:14]  ⁵ tn The difficult term חֳרָבוֹת (khoravot) is translated “desolate [places]”. The LXX confused the word and translated it “who gloried in their swords.” One would expect a word for monuments, or tombs (T. K. Cheyne emended it to “everlasting tombs” [“More Critical Gleanings in Job,” ExpTim 10 (1898/99): 380-83]). But this difficult word is of uncertain etymology and therefore cannot simply be made to mean “royal tombs.” The verb means “be desolate, solitary.” In Isa 48:21 there is the clear sense of a desert. That is the meaning of Assyrian huribtu. It may be that like the pyramids of Egypt these tombs would have been built in the desert regions. Or it may describe how they rebuilt ruins for themselves. He would be saying then that instead of lying here in pain and shame if he had died he would be with the great ones of the earth. Otherwise, the word could be interpreted as a metonymy of effect, indicating that the once glorious tomb now is desolate. But this does not fit the context – the verse is talking about the state of the great ones after their death.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn The expression simply has “or with princes gold to them.” The noun is defined by the noun clause serving as a relative clause (GKC 486 §155.e).

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “filled their houses.” There is no reason here to take “houses” to mean tombs; the “houses” refer to the places the princes lived (i.e., palaces). The reference is not to the practice of burying treasures with the dead. It is simply saying that if Job had died he would have been with the rich and famous in death.

[14:18]  ⁸ sn It is unclear where the quotation of the kings, begun in v. 10b, ends. However, the reference to the “kings of the nations” in v. 18 (see also v. 9) seems to indicate that the quotation has ended at this point and that Israel’s direct taunt (cf. vv. 4b-10a) has resumed. In fact the references to the “kings of the nations” may form a stylistic inclusio or frame around the quotation.

[14:18]  ⁹ tc The phrase “all of them” does not appear in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[14:18]  ¹⁰ sn This refers to the typically extravagant burial of kings.

[14:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house” (so KJV, ASV), but in this context a tomb is in view. Note the verb “lie down” in the preceding line and the reference to a “grave” in the next line.

[14:19]  ¹² tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”

[14:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “are clothed with.”

[14:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those going down to.”

[14:19]  ¹⁵ tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.

[14:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.