Job 10:1-6

An Appeal for Revelation

10:1 “I ¹  am weary ²  of my life;

I will complain without restraint; ³ 

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

10:2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn ⁴  me;

tell me ⁵  why you are contending ⁶  with me.’

10:3 Is it good for you ⁷  to oppress, ⁸ 

to ⁹  despise the work of your hands,

while ¹⁰  you smile ¹¹ 

on the schemes of the wicked?

Motivations of God

10:4 “Do you have eyes of flesh, ¹² 

or do you see ¹³  as a human being sees? ¹⁴ 

10:5 Are your days like the days of a mortal,

or your years like the years ¹⁵  of a mortal,

10:6 that ¹⁶  you must search out ¹⁷  my iniquity,

and inquire about my sin,

[10:1]  ¹ tn The Hebrew has נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), usually rendered “my soul.”

[10:1]  ² tn The verb is pointed like a Qal form but is originally a Niphal from קוּט (qut). Some wish to connect the word to Akkadian cognates for a meaning “I am in anguish”; but the meaning “I am weary” fits the passage well.

[10:1]  ³ tn The verb עָזַב (’azav) means “to abandon.” It may have an extended meaning of “to let go” or “to let slip.” But the expression “abandon to myself” means to abandon all restraint and give free course to the complaint.

[10:2]  ⁴ tn The negated jussive is the Hiphil jussive of רָשַׁע (rasha’); its meaning then would be literally “do not declare me guilty.” The negated jussive stresses the immediacy of the request.

[10:2]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil imperative of יָדַע (yada’) would more literally be “cause me to know.” It is a plea for God to help him understand the afflictions.

[10:2]  ⁶ tn The verb is רִיב (riv), meaning “to dispute; to contend; to strive; to quarrel” – often in the legal sense. The precise words chosen in this verse show that the setting is legal. The imperfect verb here is progressive, expressing what is currently going on.

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Or “Does it give you pleasure?” The expression could also mean, “Is it profitable for you?” or “Is it fitting for you?”

[10:3]  ⁸ tn The construction uses כִּי (ki) with the imperfect verb – “that you oppress.” Technically, this clause serves as the subject, and “good” is the predicate adjective. In such cases one often uses an English infinitive to capture the point: “Is it good for you to oppress?” The LXX changes the meaning considerably: “Is it good for you if I am unrighteous, for you have disowned the work of your hands.”

[10:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “that you despise.”

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn Now, in the second half of the verse, there is a change in the structure. The conjunction on the preposition followed by the perfect verb represents a circumstantial clause.

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn The Hiphil of the verb יָפַע (yafa’) means “shine.” In this context the expression “you shine upon” would mean “have a glowing expression,” be radiant, or smile.

[10:4]  ¹² tn Here “flesh” is the sign of humanity. The expression “eyes of flesh” means essentially “human eyes,” i.e., the outlook and vision of humans.

[10:4]  ¹³ sn The verb translated “see” could also include the figurative category of perceive as well. The answer to Job’s question is found in 1 Sam 16:7: “The Lord sees not as a man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

[10:4]  ¹⁴ sn In this verse Job asks whether or not God is liable to making mistakes or errors of judgment. He wonders if God has no more insight than his friends have. Of course, the questions are rhetorical, for he knows otherwise. But his point is that God seems to be making a big mistake here.

[10:5]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew has repeated here “like the days of,” but some scholars think that this was an accidental replacement of what should be here, namely, “like the years of.” D. J. A. Clines notes that such repetition is not uncommon in Job, but suggests that the change should be made for English style even if the text is not emended (Job [WBC], 221). This has been followed in the present translation.

[10:6]  ¹⁶ tn The clause seems to go naturally with v. 4: do you have eyes of flesh…that you have to investigate? For that reason some like Duhm would delete v. 5. But v. 5 adds to the premise: are you also like a human running out of time that you must try to find out my sin?

[10:6]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse are best given modal nuances. Does God have such limitations that he must make such an investigation? H. H. Rowley observes that Job implies that God has not yet found the iniquity, or extracted a confession from him (Job [NCBC], 84).