Job 12:21

12:21 He pours contempt on noblemen

and disarms ¹  the powerful. ² 

Job 12:24

12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth ³ 

of their understanding; ⁴ 

he makes them wander

in a trackless desert waste. ⁵ 

Isaiah 23:8-9

23:8 Who planned this for royal Tyre, ⁶ 

whose merchants are princes,

whose traders are the dignitaries ⁷  of the earth?

23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –

to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, ⁸ 

to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

[12:21]  ¹ tn The expression in Hebrew uses מְזִיחַ (mÿziakh, “belt”) and the Piel verb רִפָּה (rippah, “to loosen”) so that “to loosen the belt of the mighty” would indicate “to disarm/incapacitate the mighty.” Others have opted to change the text: P. Joüon emends to read “forehead” – “he humbles the brow of the mighty.”

[12:21]  ² tn The word אָפַק (’afaq, “to be strong”) is well-attested, and the form אָפִיק (’afiq) is a normal adjective formation. So a translation like “mighty” (KJV, NIV) or “powerful” is acceptable, and further emendations are unnecessary.

[12:24]  ³ tn Heb “the heads of the people of the earth.”

[12:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “heart.”

[12:24]  ⁵ tn The text has בְּתֹהוּ לֹא־דָרֶךְ (bÿtohu lo’ darekh): “in waste – no way,” or “in a wasteland [where there is] no way,” thus, “trackless” (see the discussion of negative attributes using לֹא [lo’] in GKC 482 §152.u).

[23:8]  ⁶ tn The precise meaning of הַמַּעֲטִירָה (hamma’atirah) is uncertain. The form is a Hiphil participle from עָטַר (’atar), a denominative verb derived from עֲטָרָה (’atarah, “crown, wreath”). The participle may mean “one who wears a crown” or “one who distributes crowns.” In either case, Tyre’s prominence in the international political arena is in view.

[23:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the honored” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “renowned.”

[23:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”