Job 14:5

14:5 Since man’s days ¹  are determined, ² 

the number of his months is under your control; ³ 

you have set his limit ⁴  and he cannot pass it.

Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ⁵  down to the deep Pit. ⁶ 

Violent and deceitful people ⁷  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ⁸ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalms 102:24

102:24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! ⁹ 

You endure through all generations. ¹⁰ 

[14:5]  ¹ tn Heb “his days.”

[14:5]  ² tn The passive participle is from חָרַץ (kharats), which means “determined.” The word literally means “cut” (Lev 22:22, “mutilated”). E. Dhorme, (Job, 197) takes it to mean “engraved” as on stone; from a custom of inscribing decrees on tablets of stone he derives the meaning here of “decreed.” This, he argues, is parallel to the way חָקַק (khaqaq, “engrave”) is used. The word חֹק (khoq) is an “ordinance” or “statute”; the idea is connected to the verb “to engrave.” The LXX has “if his life should be but one day on the earth, and his months are numbered by him, you have appointed him for a time and he shall by no means exceed it.”

[14:5]  ³ tn Heb “[is] with you.” This clearly means under God’s control.

[14:5]  ⁴ tn The word חֹק (khoq) has the meanings of “decree, decision, and limit” (cf. Job 28:26; 38:10).

[55:23]  ⁵ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[102:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”

[102:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”