Job 12:21

12:21 He pours contempt on noblemen

and disarms ¹  the powerful. ² 

Job 27:6

27:6 I will maintain my righteousness

and never let it go;

my conscience ³  will not reproach me

for as long as I live. ⁴ 

Job 7:19

7:19 Will you never ⁵  look away from me, ⁶ 

will you not let me alone ⁷ 

long enough to swallow my spittle?

[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.

[27:6]  ³ tn Heb “my heart.”

[27:6]  ⁴ tn The prepositional phrase “from my days” probably means “from the days of my birth,” or “all my life.”

[7:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to what [= how long] will you not look away from me.”

[7:19]  ⁶ tn The verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “to look”) with the preposition מִן (min) means “to look away from; to avert one’s gaze.” Job wonders if God would not look away from him even briefly, for the constant vigilance is killing him.

[7:19]  ⁷ tn The Hiphil of רָפָה (rafah) means “to leave someone alone.”