Job 13:15

13:15 Even if he slays me, I will hope in him; ¹ 

I will surely ²  defend ³  my ways to his face!

Job 21:31

21:31 No one denounces his conduct to his face;

no one repays him for what ⁴  he has done. ⁵ 

Job 33:26

33:26 He entreats God, and God ⁶  delights in him,

he sees God’s face ⁷  with rejoicing,

and God ⁸  restores to him his righteousness. ⁹ 

[13:15]  ¹ tn There is a textual difficulty here that factors into the interpretation of the verse. The Kethib is לֹא (lo’, “not”), but the Qere is לוֹ (lo, “to him”). The RSV takes the former: “Behold, he will slay me, I have no hope.” The NIV takes it as “though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” Job is looking ahead to death, which is not an evil thing to him. The point of the verse is that he is willing to challenge God at the risk of his life; and if God slays him, he is still confident that he will be vindicated – as he says later in this chapter. Other suggestions are not compelling. E. Dhorme (Job, 187) makes a slight change of אֲיַחֵל (’ayakhel, “I will hope”) to אַחִיל (’akhil, “I will [not] tremble”). A. B. Davidson (Job, 98) retains the MT, but interprets the verb more in line with its use in the book: “I will not wait” (cf. NLT).

[13:15]  ² tn On אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) see GKC 483 §153 on intensive clauses.

[13:15]  ³ tn The verb once again is יָכָה (yakhah, in the Hiphil, “argue a case, plead, defend, contest”). But because the word usually means “accuse” rather than “defend,” I. L. Seeligmann proposed changing “my ways” to “his ways” (“Zur Terminologie für das Gerichtsverfahren im Wortschatz des biblischen Hebräisch,” VTSup 16 [1967]: 251-78). But the word can be interpreted appropriately in the context without emendation.

[21:31]  ⁴ tn The expression “and he has done” is taken here to mean “what he has done.”

[21:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “Who declares his way to his face? // Who repays him for what he has done?” These rhetorical questions, which expect a negative answer (“No one!”) have been translated as indicative statements to bring out their force clearly.

[33:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “his face”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ¹⁰ tc Many commentators think this line is superfluous and so delete it. The RSV changed the verb to “he recounts,” making the idea that the man publishes the news of his victory or salvation (taking “righteousness” as a metonymy of cause).