Isaiah 50:8

50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.

Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! ¹ 

Who is my accuser? ²  Let him challenge me! ³ 

Job 1:11

1:11 But ⁴  extend your hand and strike ⁵  everything he has, and he will no doubt ⁶  curse you ⁷  to your face!”

Job 2:5

2:5 But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, ⁸  and he will no doubt ⁹  curse you to your face!”

Job 22:5-30

22:5 Is not your wickedness great ¹⁰ 

and is there no end to your iniquity?

22:6 “For you took pledges ¹¹  from your brothers

for no reason,

and you stripped the clothing from the naked. ¹² 

22:7 You gave the weary ¹³  no water to drink

and from the hungry you withheld food.

22:8 Although you were a powerful man, ¹⁴  owning land, ¹⁵ 

an honored man ¹⁶  living on it, ¹⁷ 

22:9 you sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms ¹⁸  of the orphans you crushed. ¹⁹ 

22:10 That is why snares surround you,

and why sudden fear terrifies you,

22:11 why it is so dark you cannot see, ²⁰ 

and why a flood ²¹  of water covers you.

22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven? ²² 

And see ²³  the lofty stars, ²⁴  how high they are!

22:13 But you have said, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such deep darkness? ²⁵ 

22:14 Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us, ²⁶ 

as he goes back and forth

in the vault ²⁷  of heaven.’ ²⁸ 

22:15 Will you keep to the old path ²⁹ 

that evil men have walked –

22:16 men ³⁰  who were carried off ³¹  before their time, ³² 

when the flood ³³  was poured out ³⁴ 

on their foundations? ³⁵ 

22:17 They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ ³⁶ 

22:18 But it was he ³⁷  who filled their houses

with good things –

yet the counsel of the wicked ³⁸ 

was far from me. ³⁹ 

22:19 The righteous see their destruction ⁴⁰  and rejoice;

the innocent mock them scornfully, ⁴¹  saying,

22:20 ‘Surely our enemies ⁴²  are destroyed,

and fire consumes their wealth.’

22:21 “Reconcile yourself ⁴³  with God, ⁴⁴ 

and be at peace ⁴⁵  with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

22:22 Accept instruction ⁴⁶  from his mouth

and store up his words ⁴⁷  in your heart.

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; ⁴⁸ 

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

22:24 and throw ⁴⁹  your gold ⁵⁰  in the dust –

your gold ⁵¹  of Ophir

among the rocks in the ravines –

22:25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold, ⁵² 

and the choicest ⁵³  silver for you.

22:26 Surely then you will delight yourself ⁵⁴  in the Almighty,

and will lift up your face toward God.

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him. ⁵⁵ 

22:28 Whatever you decide ⁵⁶  on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

22:29 When people are brought low ⁵⁷  and you say

‘Lift them up!’ ⁵⁸ 

then he will save the downcast; ⁵⁹ 

22:30 he will deliver even someone who is not innocent, ⁶⁰ 

who will escape ⁶¹  through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job 42:7

VII. The Epilogue (42:7-17)

42:7 After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he ⁶²  said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up ⁶³  against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, ⁶⁴  as my servant Job has.

Psalms 32:6

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ⁶⁵  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ⁶⁶ 

Certainly ⁶⁷  when the surging water ⁶⁸  rises,

it will not reach them. ⁶⁹ 

Zechariah 3:1-4

Vision Four: The Priest

3:1 Next I saw Joshua the high priest ⁷⁰  standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan ⁷¹  standing at his right hand to accuse him. 3:2 The Lord ⁷²  said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, ⁷³  rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?” 3:3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes ⁷⁴  as he stood there before the angel. 3:4 The angel ⁷⁵  spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you ⁷⁶  in fine clothing.”

Revelation 12:10

12:10 Then ⁷⁷  I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the ruling authority ⁷⁸  of his Christ, ⁷⁹  have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, ⁸⁰ 

the one who accuses them day and night ⁸¹  before our God,

has been thrown down.

[50:8]  ¹ tn Heb “Let us stand together!”

[50:8]  ² tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”

[50:8]  ³ tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”

[1:11]  ⁴ tn The particle אוּלָם (’ulam, “but”) serves to restrict the clause in relation to the preceding clause (IBHS 671-73 §39.3.5e, n. 107).

[1:11]  ⁵ tn The force of the imperatives in this sentence are almost conditional – if God were to do this, then surely Job would respond differently.

[1:11]  ⁶ sn The formula used in the expression is the oath formula: “if not to your face he will curse you” meaning “he will surely curse you to your face.” Satan is so sure that the piety is insincere that he can use an oath formula.

[1:11]  ⁷ tn See the comments on Job 1:5. Here too the idea of “renounce” may fit well enough; but the idea of actually cursing God may not be out of the picture if everything Job has is removed. Satan thinks he will denounce God.

[2:5]  ⁸ sn The “bones and flesh” are idiomatic for the whole person, his physical and his psychical/spiritual being (see further H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 26-28).

[2:5]  ⁹ sn This is the same oath formula found in 1:11; see the note there.

[22:5]  ¹⁰ tn The adjective רַבָּה (rabbah) normally has the idea of “great” in quantity (“abundant,” ESV) rather than “great” in quality.

[22:6]  ¹¹ tn The verb חָבַל (khaval) means “to take pledges.” In this verse Eliphaz says that Job not only took as pledge things the poor need, like clothing, but he did it for no reason.

[22:6]  ¹² tn The “naked” here refers to people who are poorly clothed. Otherwise, a reading like the NIV would be necessary: “you stripped the clothes…[leaving them] naked.” So either he made them naked by stripping their garments off, or they were already in rags.

[22:7]  ¹³ tn The term עָיֵף (’ayef) can be translated “weary,” “faint,” “exhausted,” or “tired.” Here it may refer to the fainting because of thirst – that would make a good parallel to the second part.

[22:8]  ¹⁴ tn The idiom is “a man of arm” (= “powerful”; see Ps 10:15). This is in comparison to the next line, “man of face” (= “dignity; high rank”; see Isa 3:5).

[22:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and a man of arm, to whom [was] land.” The line is in contrast to the preceding one, and so the vav here introduces a concessive clause.

[22:8]  ¹⁶ tn The expression is unusual: “the one lifted up of face.” This is the “honored one,” the one to whom the dignity will be given.

[22:8]  ¹⁷ tn Many commentators simply delete the verse or move it elsewhere. Most take it as a general reference to Job, perhaps in apposition to the preceding verse.

[22:9]  ¹⁸ tn The “arms of the orphans” are their helps or rights on which they depended for support.

[22:9]  ¹⁹ tn The verb in the text is Pual: יְדֻכָּא (yÿdukka’, “was [were] crushed”). GKC 388 §121.b would explain “arms” as the complement of a passive imperfect. But if that is too difficult, then a change to Piel imperfect, second person, will solve the difficulty. In its favor is the parallelism, the use of the second person all throughout the section, and the reading in all the versions. The versions may have simply assumed the easier reading, however.

[22:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “or dark you cannot see.” Some commentators and the RSV follow the LXX in reading אוֹ (’o, “or”) as אוֹר (’or, “light”) and translate it “The light has become dark” or “Your light has become dark.” A. B. Davidson suggests the reading “Or seest thou not the darkness.” This would mean Job does not understand the true meaning of the darkness and the calamities.

[22:11]  ²¹ tn The word שִׁפְעַת (shif’at) means “multitude of.” It is used of men, camels, horses, and here of waters in the heavens.

[22:12]  ²² tn This reading preserves the text as it is. The nouns “high” and “heavens” would then be taken as adverbial accusatives of place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).

[22:12]  ²³ tn The parallel passage in Isa 40:26-27, as well as the context here, shows that the imperative is to be retained here. The LXX has “he sees.”

[22:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “head of the stars.”

[22:13]  ²⁵ sn Eliphaz is giving to Job the thoughts and words of the pagans, for they say, “How does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?” (see Ps 73:11; 94:11).

[22:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he does not see.” The implied object is “us.”

[22:14]  ²⁷ sn The word is “circle; dome”; here it is the dome that covers the earth, beyond which God sits enthroned. A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) suggests “on the arch of heaven” that covers the earth.

[22:14]  ²⁸ sn The idea suggested here is that God is not only far off, but he is unconcerned as he strolls around heaven – this is what Eliphaz says Job means.

[22:15]  ²⁹ tn The “old path” here is the way of defiance to God. The text in these two verses is no doubt making reference to the flood in Genesis, one of the perennial examples of divine judgment.

[22:16]  ³⁰ tn The word “men” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the relative pronoun “who.”

[22:16]  ³¹ tn The verb קָמַט (qamat) basically means “to seize; to tie together to make a bundle.” So the Pual will mean “to be bundled away; to be carried off.”

[22:16]  ³² tn The clause has “and [it was] not the time.” It may be used adverbially here.

[22:16]  ³³ tn The word is נָהַר (nahar, “river” or “current”); it is taken here in its broadest sense of the waters on the earth that formed the current of the flood (Gen 7:6, 10).

[22:16]  ³⁴ tn The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out; to shed; to spill; to flow.” The Pual means “to be poured out” (as in Lev 21:10 and Ps 45:3).

[22:16]  ³⁵ tn This word is then to be taken as an adverbial accusative of place. Another way to look at this verse is what A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) proposes “whose foundation was poured away and became a flood.” This would mean that that on which they stood sank away.

[22:17]  ³⁶ tn The form in the text is “to them.” The LXX and the Syriac versions have “to us.”

[22:18]  ³⁷ tn The pronoun is added for this emphasis; it has “but he” before the verb.

[22:18]  ³⁸ tn See Job 10:3.

[22:18]  ³⁹ tc The LXX has “from him,” and this is followed by several commentators. But the MT is to be retained, for Eliphaz is recalling the words of Job. Verses 17 and 18 are deleted by a number of commentators as a gloss because they have many similarities to 21:14-16. But Eliphaz is recalling what Job said, in order to say that the prosperity to which Job alluded was only the prelude to a disaster he denied (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 156).

[22:19]  ⁴⁰ tn The line is talking about the rejoicing of the righteous when judgment falls on the wicked. An object (“destruction”) has to be supplied here to clarify this (see Pss 52:6 [8]; 69:32 [33]; 107:42).

[22:19]  ⁴¹ sn In Ps 2:4 it was God who mocked the wicked by judging them.

[22:20]  ⁴² tc The word translated “our enemies” is found only here. The word means “hostility,” but used here as a collective for those who are hostile – “enemies.” Some commentators follow the LXX and read “possessions,” explaining its meaning and derivation in different ways. Gordis simply takes the word in the text and affirms that this is the meaning. On the other hand, to get this, E. Dhorme (Job, 336) repoints קִימָנוּ (qimanu) of the MT to יְקוּמַם (yÿqumam), arguing that יְקוּם (yÿqum) means “what exists [or has substance]” (although that is used of animals). He translates: “have not their possessions been destroyed.”

[22:21]  ⁴³ tn The verb סָכַן (sakhan) meant “to be useful; to be profitable” in v. 2. Now, in the Hiphil it means “to be accustomed to” or “to have experience with.” Joined by the preposition “with” it means “to be reconciled with him.” W. B. Bishai cites Arabic and Ugaritic words to support a meaning “acquiesce” (“Notes on hskn in Job 22:21,” JNES 20 [1961]: 258-59).

[22:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:21]  ⁴⁵ tn The two imperatives in this verse imply a relationship of succession and not consequence.

[22:22]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew word here is תּוֹרָה (torah), its only occurrence in the book of Job.

[22:22]  ⁴⁷ tc M. Dahood has “write his words” (“Metaphor in Job 22:22,” Bib 47 [1966]: 108-9).

[22:23]  ⁴⁸ tc The MT has “you will be built up” (תִּבָּנֶה, tibbaneh). But the LXX has “humble yourself” (reading תְּעַנֶּה [tÿ’anneh] apparently). Many commentators read this; Dahood has “you will be healed.”

[22:24]  ⁴⁹ tc The form is the imperative. Eliphaz is telling Job to get rid of his gold as evidence of his repentance. Many commentators think that this is too improbable for Eliphaz to have said, and that Job has lost everything anyway, and so they make proposals for the text. Most would follow Theodotion and the Syriac to read וְשָׁתָּ (vÿshatta, “and you will esteem….”). This would mean that he is promising Job restoration of his wealth.

[22:24]  ⁵⁰ tn The word for “gold” is the rare בֶּצֶר (betser), which may be derived from a cognate of Arabic basara, “to see; to examine.” If this is the case, the word here would refer to refined gold. The word also forms a fine wordplay with בְצוּר (bÿtsur, “in the rock”).

[22:24]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “Ophir,” a metonymy for the gold that comes from there.

[22:25]  ⁵² tn The form for “gold” here is plural, which could be a plural of extension. The LXX and Latin versions have “The Almighty will be your helper against your enemies.”

[22:25]  ⁵³ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 339) connects this word with an Arabic root meaning “to be elevated, steep.” From that he gets “heaps of silver.”

[22:26]  ⁵⁴ tc This is the same verb as in Ps 37:4. G. R. Driver suggests the word comes from another root that means “abandon oneself to, depend on” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 84).

[22:27]  ⁵⁵ tn The words “to him” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[22:28]  ⁵⁶ tn The word is גָּזַר (gazar, “to cut”), in the sense of deciding a matter.

[22:29]  ⁵⁷ tn There is no expressed subject here, and so the verb is taken as a passive voice again.

[22:29]  ⁵⁸ tn The word גֵּוָה (gevah) means “loftiness; pride.” Here it simply says “up,” or “pride.” The rest is paraphrased. Of the many suggestions, the following provide a sampling: “It is because of pride” (ESV), “he abases pride” (H. H. Rowley); “[he abases] the lofty and the proud” (Beer); “[he abases] the word of pride” [Duhm]; “[he abases] the haughtiness of pride” [Fohrer and others]; “[he abases] the one who speaks proudly” [Weiser]; “[he abases] the one who boasts in pride” [Kissane]; and “God [abases] pride” [Budde, Gray].

[22:29]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “humble”; Heb “the lowly of eyes.”

[22:30]  ⁶⁰ tc The Hebrew has אִי־נָקִי (’i naqi), which could be taken as “island of the innocent” (so Ibn-Ezra), or “him that is not innocent” (so Rashi). But some have changed אִי (’i) to אִישׁ (’ish, “the innocent man”). Others differ: A. Guillaume links אִי (’i) to Arabic ‘ayya “whosoever,” and so leaves the text alone. M. Dahood secures the same idea from Ugaritic, but reads it אֵי (’e).

[22:30]  ⁶¹ tc The MT has “he will escape [or be delivered].” Theodotion has the second person, “you will be delivered.”

[42:7]  ⁶² tn Heb “the Lord.” The title has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:7]  ⁶³ tn Heb “is kindled.”

[42:7]  ⁶⁴ tn The form נְכוֹנָה (nÿkhonah) is from כּוּן (kun, “to be firm; to be fixed; to be established”). Here it means “the right thing” or “truth.” The Akkadian word kenu (from כּוּן, kun) connotes justice and truth.

[32:6]  ⁶⁵ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ⁶⁸ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.

[3:1]  ⁷⁰ sn Joshua the high priest mentioned here is the son of the priest Jehozadak, mentioned also in Hag 1:1 (cf. Ezra 2:2; 3:2, 8; 4:3; 5:2; 10:18; Neh 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26). He also appears to have been the grandfather of the high priest contemporary with Nehemiah ca. 445 b.c. (Neh 12:10).

[3:1]  ⁷¹ tn The Hebrew term הַשָּׂטָן (hassatan, “the satan”) suggests not so much a personal name (as in almost all English translations) but an epithet, namely, “the adversary.” This evil being is otherwise thus described in Job 1 and 2 and 1 Chr 21:1. In this last passage the article is dropped and “the satan” becomes “Satan,” a personal name.

[3:2]  ⁷² sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the Lord in v. 1 and the Lord in v. 2 shows that here, at least, they are one and the same. See Zech 1:11, 12 where they are distinguished from each other.

[3:2]  ⁷³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:3]  ⁷⁴ sn The Hebrew word צוֹאִים (tso’im) means “excrement.” This disgusting figure of speech suggests Joshua’s absolute disqualification for priestly service in the flesh, but v. 2 speaks of his having been rescued from that deplorable state by God’s grace. He is like a burning stick pulled out of the fire before it is consumed. This is a picture of cleansing, saving grace.

[3:4]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the angel, cf. v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:4]  ⁷⁶ tn The occurrence of the infinitive absolute here for an expected imperfect 1st person common singular (or even imperative 2nd person masculine plural or preterite 3rd person masculine plural) is well-attested elsewhere. Most English translations render this as 1st person singular (“and I will clothe”), but cf. NAB “Take off…and clothe him.”

[12:10]  ⁷⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:10]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.

[12:10]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:10]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.

[12:10]  ⁸¹ tn Or “who accuses them continually.”