Job 12:6

12:6 But ¹  the tents of robbers are peaceful,

and those who provoke God are confident ²  –

who carry their god in their hands. ³ 

Job 12:1

Job’s Reply to Zophar ⁴ 

12:1 Then Job answered:

Job 2:7

Job’s Integrity in Suffering

2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted ⁵  Job with a malignant ulcer ⁶  from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. ⁷ 

Psalms 17:14

17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ⁸ 

from the murderers of this world! ⁹ 

They enjoy prosperity; ¹⁰ 

you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ¹¹ 

They have many children,

and leave their wealth to their offspring. ¹² 

Jeremiah 12:2

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. ¹³ 

They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. ¹⁴ 

They always talk about you,

but they really care nothing about you. ¹⁵ 

Acts 14:17

14:17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, ¹⁶  by giving you rain from heaven ¹⁷  and fruitful seasons, satisfying you ¹⁸  with food and your hearts with joy.” ¹⁹ 

Acts 15:16

15:16 ‘After this ²⁰  I ²¹  will return,

and I will rebuild the fallen tent ²²  of David;

I will rebuild its ruins and restore ²³  it,

[12:6]  ¹ tn The verse gives the other side of the coin now, the fact that the wicked prosper.

[12:6]  ² tn The plural is used to suggest the supreme degree of arrogant confidence (E. Dhorme, Job, 171).

[12:6]  ³ sn The line is perhaps best understood as describing one who thinks he is invested with the power of God.

[12:1]  ⁴ sn This long speech of Job falls into three parts: in 12:2-25 Job expresses his resentment at his friends’ attitude of superiority and acknowledges the wisdom of God; then, in 13:1-28 Job expresses his determination to reason with God, expresses his scorn for his friends’ advice, and demands to know what his sins are; and finally, in 14:1-22 Job laments the brevity of life and the finality of death.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn The verb is נָכָה (nakhah, “struck, smote”); it can be rendered in this context as “afflicted.”

[2:7]  ⁶ sn The general consensus is that Job was afflicted with a leprosy known as elephantiasis, named because the rough skin and the swollen limbs are animal-like. The Hebrew word שְׁחִין (shÿkhin, “boil”) can indicate an ulcer as well. Leprosy begins with such, but so do other diseases. Leprosy normally begins in the limbs and spreads, but Job was afflicted everywhere at once. It may be some other disease also characterized by such a malignant ulcer. D. J. A. Clines has a thorough bibliography on all the possible diseases linked to this description (Job [WBC], 48). See also HALOT 1460 s.v. שְׁחִין.

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “crown.”

[17:14]  ⁸ tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimtim, “from men”) to מִמְמִתִים (mimmitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).

[17:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”

[17:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their portion, in life.”

[17:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”

[17:14]  ¹² tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”

[12:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”

[12:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.

[12:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”

[14:17]  ¹⁶ tn The participle ἀγαθουργῶν (agaqourgwn) is regarded as indicating means here, parallel to the following participles διδούς (didou") and ἐμπιπλῶν (empiplwn). This is the easiest way to understand the Greek structure. Semantically, the first participle is a general statement, followed by two participles giving specific examples of doing good.

[14:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[14:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “satisfying [filling] your hearts with food and joy.” This is an idiomatic expression; it strikes the English reader as strange to speak of “filling one’s heart with food.” Thus the additional direct object “you” has been supplied, separating the two expressions somewhat: “satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”

[14:17]  ¹⁹ sn God’s general sovereignty and gracious care in the creation are the way Paul introduces the theme of the goodness of God. He was trying to establish monotheism here. It is an OT theme (Gen 8:22; Ps 4:7; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; Isa 25:6; Jer 5:24) which also appears in the NT (Luke 12:22-34).

[15:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “After these things.”

[15:16]  ²¹ sn The first person pronoun I refers to God and his activity. It is God who is doing this.

[15:16]  ²² tn Or more generally, “dwelling”; perhaps, “royal tent.” According to BDAG 928 s.v. σκηνή the word can mean “tent” or “hut,” or more generally “lodging” or “dwelling.” In this verse (a quotation from Amos 9:11) BDAG refers this to David’s ruined kingdom; it is possibly an allusion to a king’s tent (a royal tent). God is at work to reestablish David’s line (Acts 2:30-36; 13:32-39).

[15:16]  ²³ tn BDAG 86 s.v. ἀνορθόω places this verb under the meaning “to build someth. up again after it has fallen, rebuild, restore,” but since ἀνοικοδομέω (anoikodomew, “rebuild”) has occurred twice in this verse already, “restore” is used here.