Job 12:13

12:13 “With God ¹  are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his. ² 

Job 12:16

12:16 With him are strength and prudence; ³ 

both the one who goes astray ⁴ 

and the one who misleads are his.

Job 23:14

23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me, ⁵ 

and many such things are his plans. ⁶ 

Job 25:2

25:2 “Dominion ⁷  and awesome might ⁸  belong to ⁹  God;

he establishes peace in his heights. ¹⁰ 

Job 37:18

37:18 will you, with him, spread out ¹¹  the clouds,

solid as a mirror of molten metal?

Job 9:14

The Impossibility of Facing God in Court

9:14 “How much less, ¹²  then, can I answer him ¹³ 

and choose my words ¹⁴  to argue ¹⁵  with ¹⁶  him! ¹⁷ 

Job 22:21

22:21 “Reconcile yourself ¹⁸  with God, ¹⁹ 

and be at peace ²⁰  with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

Job 23:7

23:7 There ²¹  an upright person

could present his case ²²  before him,

and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

Job 9:3

9:3 If someone wishes ²³  to contend ²⁴  with him,

he cannot answer ²⁵  him one time in a thousand.

Job 42:11

42:11 So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined ²⁶  with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver ²⁷  and a gold ring. ²⁸ 

[12:13]  ¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ² sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [sic] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”

[12:16]  ³ tn The word תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) is here rendered “prudence.” Some object that God’s power is intended here, and so a word for power and not wisdom should be included. But v. 13 mentioned wisdom. The point is that it is God’s efficient wisdom that leads to success. One could interpret this as a metonymy of cause, the intended meaning being victory or success.

[12:16]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses a wordplay here: שֹׁגֵג (shogeg) is “the one going astray,” i.e., the one who is unable to guard and guide his life. The second word is מַשְׁגֶּה (mashgeh), from a different but historically related root שָׁגָה (shagah), which here in the Hiphil means “the one who misleads, causes to go astray.” These two words are designed to include everybody – all are under the wisdom of God.

[23:14]  ⁵ tn The text has “my decree,” which means “the decree [plan] for/against me.” The suffix is objective, equivalent to a dative of disadvantage. The Syriac and the Vulgate actually have “his decree.” R. Gordis (Job, 262) suggests taking it in the same sense as in Job 14:5: “my limit.”.

[23:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “and many such [things] are with him.”

[25:2]  ⁷ tn The word הַמְשֵׁל (hamshel) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute used as a noun. It describes the rulership or dominion that God has, that which gives power and authority.

[25:2]  ⁸ tn The word פָּחַד (pakhad) literally means “fear; dread,” but in the sense of what causes the fear or the dread.

[25:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “[are] with him.”

[25:2]  ¹⁰ sn The line says that God “makes peace in his heights.” The “heights” are usually interpreted to mean the highest heaven. There may be a reference here to combat in the spiritual world between angels and Satan. The context will show that God has a heavenly host at his disposal, and nothing in heaven or on earth can shatter his peace. “Peace” here could also signify the whole order he establishes.

[37:18]  ⁹ tn The verb means “to beat out; to flatten,” and the analogy in the next line will use molten metal. From this verb is derived the word for the “firmament” in Gen 1:6-8, that canopy-like pressure area separating water above and water below.

[9:14]  ¹¹ tn The construction אַף כִּי־אָנֹכִי (’af ki ’anokhi) is an expression that means either “how much more” or “how much less.” Here it has to mean “how much less,” for if powerful forces like Rahab are crushed beneath God’s feet, how could Job contend with him?

[9:14]  ¹² tn The imperfect verb here is to be taken with the nuance of a potential imperfect. The idea of “answer him” has a legal context, i.e., answering God in a court of law. If God is relentless in his anger toward greater powers, then Job realizes it is futile for him.

[9:14]  ¹³ sn In a legal controversy with God it would be essential to choose the correct words very carefully (humanly speaking); but the calmness and presence of mind to do that would be shattered by the overwhelming terror of God’s presence.

[9:14]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is supplied in this line.

[9:14]  ¹⁵ tn The preposition אִם (’im, “with”) carries the idea of “in contest with” in a number of passages (compare vv. 2, 3; 16:21).

[9:14]  ¹⁶ tn The LXX goes a different way after changing the first person to the third: “Oh then that he would hearken to me, or judge my cause.”

[22:21]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:21]  ¹⁵ tn The two imperatives in this verse imply a relationship of succession and not consequence.

[23:7]  ¹⁵ tn The adverb “there” has the sense of “then” – there in the future.

[23:7]  ¹⁶ tn The form of the verb is the Niphal נוֹכָח (nokkakh, “argue, present a case”). E. Dhorme (Job, 346) is troubled by this verbal form and so changes it and other things in the line to say, “he would observe the upright man who argues with him.” The Niphal is used for “engaging discussion,” “arguing a case,” and “settling a dispute.”

[9:3]  ¹⁷ tn Some commentators take God to be the subject of this verb, but it is more likely that it refers to the mortal who tries to challenge God in a controversy. The verb is used of Job in 13:3.

[9:3]  ¹⁸ tn The verb רִיב (riv) is a common one; it has the idea of “contention; dispute; legal dispute or controversy; go to law.” With the preposition אִם (’im) the idea must be “to contend with” or “to dispute with.” The preposition reflects the prepositional phrase “with God” in v. 2, supporting the view that man is the subject.

[9:3]  ¹⁹ tn This use of the imperfect as potential imperfect assumes that the human is the subject, that in a dispute with God he could not answer one of God’s questions (for which see the conclusion of the book when God questions Job). On the other hand, if the interpretation were that God does not answer the demands of mortals, then a simple progressive imperfect would be required. In support of this is the frustration of Job that God does not answer him.

[42:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “ate bread.”

[42:11]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown.

[42:11]  ²¹ sn This gold ring was worn by women in the nose, or men and women in the ear.