Job 11:6

11:6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom –

for true wisdom has two sides ¹  –

so that you would know ² 

that God has forgiven some of your sins. ³ 

Job 34:10

God is Not Unjust

34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. ⁴ 

Far be it from ⁵  God to do wickedness,

from the Almighty to do evil.

Job 34:12

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

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

Job 35:14

35:14 How much less, then,

when you say that you do not perceive him,

that the case is before him

and you are waiting for him! ⁶ 

Job 36:3

36:3 With my knowledge I will speak comprehensively, ⁷ 

and to my Creator I will ascribe righteousness. ⁸ 

Job 36:8-13

36:8 But if they are bound in chains, ⁹ 

and held captive by the cords of affliction,

36:9 then he reveals ¹⁰  to them what they have done, ¹¹ 

and their transgressions,

that they were behaving proudly.

36:10 And he reveals ¹²  this ¹³  for correction,

and says that they must turn ¹⁴  from evil.

36:11 If they obey and serve him,

they live out their days in prosperity

and their years in pleasantness. ¹⁵ 

36:12 But if they refuse to listen,

they pass over the river of death, ¹⁶ 

and expire without knowledge.

36:13 The godless at heart ¹⁷  nourish anger, ¹⁸ 

they do not cry out even when he binds them.

Job 37:23

37:23 As for the Almighty, ¹⁹  we cannot attain to him!

He is great in power,

but justice ²⁰  and abundant righteousness he does not oppress.

Nehemiah 9:33

9:33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. ²¹  It is we who have been in the wrong!

Psalms 119:75

119:75 I know, Lord, that your regulations ²²  are just.

You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me. ²³ 

Lamentations 3:22-23

ח (Khet)

3:22 The Lord’s loyal kindness ²⁴  never ceases; ²⁵ 

his compassions ²⁶  never end.

3:23 They are fresh ²⁷  every morning;

your faithfulness is abundant! ²⁸ 

Lamentations 3:32

3:32 Though he causes us ²⁹  grief, he then has compassion on us ³⁰ 

according to the abundance of his loyal kindness. ³¹ 

Lamentations 3:39-41

3:39 Why should any living person ³²  complain

when punished for his sins? ³³ 

נ (Nun)

3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, ³⁴ 

and let us return to the Lord.

3:41 Let us lift up our hearts ³⁵  and our hands

to God in heaven:

Ezekiel 18:25-28

18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct ³⁶  is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust? 18:26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; ³⁷  because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. 18:27 When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 18:28 Because he considered ³⁸  and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die.

Daniel 9:14

9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ³⁹  in all he has done, ⁴⁰  and we have not obeyed him. ⁴¹ 

[11:6]  ¹ tn The text seems to be saying “that it [wisdom] is double in understanding.” The point is that it is different than Job conceived it – it far exceeded all perception. But some commentators have thought this still too difficult, and so have replaced the word כִפְלַיִם (khiflayim, “two sides”) with כִפְלָאִים (khifla’im, “like wonders,” or, more simply, “wonders” without the preposition). But it is still a little strange to talk about God’s wisdom being like wonders. Others have had more radical changes in the text; J. J. Slotki has “for sound wisdom is his. And know that double [punishment] shall God exact of you” (“Job 11:6,” VT 35 [1985]: 229-30).

[11:6]  ² tn The verb is the imperative with a ו (vav). Following the jussive, this clause would be subordinated to the preceding (see GKC 325 §110.i).

[11:6]  ³ tn Heb “God causes to be forgotten for you part of your iniquity.” The meaning is that God was exacting less punishment from Job than Job deserved, for Job could not remember all his sins. This statement is fitting for Zophar, who is the cruelest of Job’s friends (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 88). Others in an attempt to improve the text make too many unwarranted changes. Some would read יִשְׁאָלְךָ (yish’alkha, “he asks of you”) instead of יַשֶּׂה לְךָ (yasseh lÿka, “he causes to be forgotten for you”). This would mean that God demands an account of Job’s sin. But, as D. J. A. Clines says, this change is weak and needless (Job [WBC], 254-55).

[34:10]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.

[35:14]  ⁶ sn The point is that if God does not listen to those who do not turn to him, how much less likely is he to turn to one who complains against him.

[36:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will carry my knowledge to-from afar.” The expression means that he will give a wide range to knowledge, that he will speak comprehensively.

[36:3]  ⁸ tn This line gives the essence of all of Elihu’s speech – to give or ascribe righteousness to God against the charges of Job. Dhorme translates this “I will justify my Maker,” and that is workable if it carries the meaning of “declaring to be right.”

[36:8]  ⁹ tn Dhorme thinks that the verse is still talking about kings, who may be in captivity. But this diverts attention from Elihu’s emphasis on the righteous.

[36:9]  ¹⁰ tn The verb נָגַד (nagad) means “to declare; to tell.” Here it is clear that God is making known the sins that caused the enslavement or captivity, so “reveal” makes a good interpretive translation.

[36:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their work.”

[36:10]  ¹² tn The idiom once again is “he uncovers their ear.”

[36:10]  ¹³ tn The revelation is in the preceding verse, and so a pronoun must be added to make the reference clear.

[36:10]  ¹⁴ tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to turn; to return”) is one of the two major words in the OT for “repent” – to return from evil. Here the imperfect should be obligatory – they must do it.

[36:11]  ¹⁵ tc Some commentators delete this last line for metrical considerations. But there is no textual evidence for the deletion; it is simply the attempt by some to make the meter rigid.

[36:12]  ¹⁶ tn This is a similar expression to the one in Job 33:18, where the suggestion was made by many that it means crossing over the canal or river of death. Some retain the earlier interpretation of “perish by the sword” (cf. NIV).

[36:13]  ¹⁷ tn The expression “godless [or hypocrite] in heart” is an intensification of the description. It conveys that they are intentionally godless. See Matt 23:28.

[36:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they put anger.” This is usually interpreted to mean they lay up anger, or put anger in their hearts.

[37:23]  ¹⁹ tn The name “Almighty” is here a casus pendens, isolating the name at the front of the sentence and resuming it with a pronoun.

[37:23]  ²⁰ tn The MT places the major disjunctive accent (the atnach) under “power,” indicating that “and justice” as a disjunctive clause starting the second half of the verse (with ESV, NASB, NIV, NLT). Ignoring the Masoretic accent, NRSV has “he is great in power and justice.”

[9:33]  ²¹ tn Heb “you have done truth.”

[119:75]  ²² tn In this context (note the second line) the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim), which so often refers to the regulations of God’s law elsewhere in this psalm, may refer instead to his decisions or disciplinary judgment.

[119:75]  ²³ tn Heb “and [in] faithfulness you afflicted me.”

[3:22]  ²⁴ tn It is difficult to capture the nuances of the Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed). When used of the Lord it is often connected to his covenant loyalty. This is the only occasion when the plural form of חֶסֶד (khesed) precedes the plural form of רַחֲמִים (rakhamim, “mercy, compassion”). The plural forms, as with this one, tend to be in late texts. The plural may indicate several concrete expressions of God’s kindnesses or may indicate the abstract concept of his kindness.

[3:22]  ²⁵ tc The MT reads תָמְנוּ (tamnu) “indeed we are [not] cut off,” Qal perfect 1st person common plural from תָּמַם (tamam, “be finished”): “[Because of] the kindnesses of the Lord, we are not cut off.” However, the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum) and many medieval Hebrew mss preserve the alternate reading תָּמּוּ (tammu), Qal perfect 3rd person common plural from תָּמַם (tamam, “to be finished”): “The kindnesses of the Lord never cease.” The external evidence favors the alternate reading. The internal evidence supports this as well, as the parallel B-line suggests: “his compassions never come to an end.” Several English versions follow the MT: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed” (KJV, NKJV), “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed” (NIV). Other English versions follow the alternate textual tradition: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (RSV, NRSV), “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease” (NASB), “The kindness of the Lord has not ended” (NJPS) and “The Lord’s unfailing love still continues” (TEV).

[3:22]  ²⁶ tn The plural form of רַחֲמִים (rakhamim) may denote the abstract concept of mercy, several concrete expressions of mercy, or the plural of intensity: “great compassion.” See IBHS 122 §7.4.3a.

[3:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they are new.”

[3:23]  ²⁸ tn The adjective רַב (rav) has a broad range of meanings: (1) quantitative: “much, numerous, many (with plurals), abundant, enough, exceedingly” and (2) less often in a qualitative sense: “great” (a) of space and location, (b) “strong” as opposed to “weak” and (c) “major.” The traditional translation, “great is thy faithfulness,” is less likely than the quantitative sense: “your faithfulness is abundant” [or, “plentiful”]. NJPS is on target in its translation: “Ample is your grace!”

[3:32]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Although he has caused grief.” The word “us” is added in the translation.

[3:32]  ³⁰ tn Heb “He will have compassion.” The words “on us” are added in the translation.

[3:32]  ³¹ tc The Kethib preserves the singular form חַסְדּוֹ (khasdo, “his kindness”), also reflected in the LXX and Aramaic Targum. The Qere reads the plural form חֲסָדָיו (khasadayv, “his kindnesses”) which is reflected in the Latin Vulgate.

[3:39]  ³² tn The Hebrew word here is אָדָם (’adam) which can mean “man” or “person.” The second half of the line is more personalized to the speaking voice of the defeated soldier using גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”). See the note at 3:1.

[3:39]  ³³ tc Kethib reads the singular חֶטְאוֹ (khet’o, “his sin”), which is reflected in the LXX. Qere reads the plural חֲטָאָיו (khata’ayv, “his sins”) which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew mss and reflected in the other early versions (Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate). The external and internal evidence are not decisive in favor of either reading.

[3:40]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”

[3:41]  ³⁵ tc The MT reads the singular noun לְבָבֵנוּ (lÿvavenu, “our heart”) but the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) and many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural noun לְבָבֵינוּ (lÿvavenu, “our hearts”). Hebrew regularly places plural pronouns on singular nouns used as a collective (135 times on the singular “heart” and only twice on the plural “hearts”). The plural “hearts” in any Hebrew construction is actually rather rare. The LXX renders similar Hebrew constructions (singular “heart” plus a plural pronoun) with the plural “hearts” about 1/3 of the time, therefore it cannot be considered evidence for the reading. The Vulgate may have been influenced by the LXX. Although a distributive sense is appropriate for a much higher percentage of passages using the plural “hearts” in the LXX, no clear reason for the differentiation in the LXX has emerged. Likely the singular Hebrew form is original but the meaning is best represented in English with the plural.

[18:25]  ³⁶ tn Heb “way.”

[18:26]  ³⁷ tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”

[18:28]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he saw.”

[9:14]  ³⁹ tn Or “righteous.”

[9:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”

[9:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”