Genesis 18:25

18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ¹  of the whole earth do what is right?” ² 

Job 34:8-12

34:8 He goes about ³  in company ⁴  with evildoers,

he goes along ⁵  with wicked men. ⁶ 

34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man

when he makes his delight with God.’ ⁷ 

God is Not Unjust

34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. ⁸ 

Far be it from ⁹  God to do wickedness,

from the Almighty to do evil.

34:11 For he repays a person for his work, ¹⁰ 

and according to the conduct of a person,

he causes the consequences to find him. ¹¹ 

34:12 Indeed, in truth, God does not act wickedly,

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

Job 34:17-18

34:17 Do you really think ¹² 

that one who hates justice can govern? ¹³ 

And will you declare guilty

the supremely righteous ¹⁴  One,

34:18 who says to a king, ¹⁵  ‘Worthless man’ ¹⁶ 

and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’

Job 35:2

35:2 “Do you think this to be ¹⁷  just:

when ¹⁸  you say, ‘My right before God.’ ¹⁹ 

Job 40:8

40:8 Would you indeed annul ²⁰  my justice?

Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?

Romans 9:14-15

9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 9:15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ²¹ 

Romans 9:20

9:20 But who indeed are you – a mere human being ²²  – to talk back to God? ²³  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²⁴ 

[18:25]  ¹ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ² sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.

[34:8]  ³ tn The perfect verb with the vav (ו) consecutive carries the sequence forward from the last description.

[34:8]  ⁴ tn The word חֶבְרַה (khevrah, “company”) is a hapax legomenon. But its meaning is clear enough from the connections to related words and this context as well.

[34:8]  ⁵ tn The infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition may continue the clause with the finite verb (see GKC 351 §114.p).

[34:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “men of wickedness”; the genitive is attributive (= “wicked men”).

[34:9]  ⁷ tn Gordis, however, takes this expression in the sense of “being in favor with God.”

[34:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “men of heart.” The “heart” is used for the capacity to understand and make the proper choice. It is often translated “mind.”

[34:10]  ⁹ tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.

[34:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for the work of man, he [= God] repays him.”

[34:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he causes it to find him.” The text means that God will cause a man to find (or receive) the consequences of his actions.

[34:17]  ¹² tn The force of הַאַף (ha’af) is “Is it truly the case?” The point is being made that if Job were right God could not be judging the world.

[34:17]  ¹³ tn The verb חָבַשׁ (khavash) has the basic idea of “to bind,” as in binding on the yoke, and then in the sense of subduing people under authority (cf. Assyrian absanu). The imperfect verb here is best expressed with the potential nuance.

[34:17]  ¹⁴ tn The two words could be taken separately, but they seem to form a fine nominal hendiadys, because the issue is God’s justice. So the word for power becomes the modifier.

[34:18]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “Does one say,” although some smooth it out to say “Is it fit to say?” For the reading “who says,” the form has to be repointed to הַאֹמֵר (ha’omer) meaning, “who is the one saying.” This reading is supported by the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac. Also it seems to flow better with the following verse. It would be saying that God is over the rulers and can rebuke them. The former view is saying that no one rebukes kings, much less Job rebuking God.

[34:18]  ¹⁶ tn The word בְּלִיָּעַל (bÿliyya’al) means both “worthless” and “wicked.” It is common in proverbial literature, and in later writings it became a description of Satan. It is usually found with “son of.”

[35:2]  ¹⁷ tn The line could be read as “do you reckon this for justice? Here “to be” is understood.

[35:2]  ¹⁸ tn The word “when” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[35:2]  ¹⁹ tn The brief line could be interpreted in a number of ways. The MT simply has “my right from God.” It could be “I am right before God,” “I am more just/right than God” (identifying the preposition as a comparative min (מִן); cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 463), “I will be right before God,” or “My just cause against God.”

[40:8]  ²⁰ tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to annul; to break; to frustrate.” It was one thing for Job to claim his own integrity, but it was another matter altogether to nullify God’s righteousness in the process.

[9:15]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.

[9:20]  ²² tn Grk “O man.”

[9:20]  ²³ tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

[9:20]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.