Job 13:4

13:4 But you, however, are inventors of lies; ¹ 

all of you are worthless physicians! ² 

Job 13:7

13:7 Will you speak wickedly ³  on God’s behalf? ⁴ 

Will you speak deceitfully for him?

Job 21:27

Futile Words, Deceptive Answers

21:27 “Yes, I know what you are thinking, ⁵ 

the schemes ⁶  by which you would wrong me. ⁷ 

Job 21:34

21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?

Nothing is left of your answers but deception!” ⁸ 

Job 22:6-30

22:6 “For you took pledges ⁹  from your brothers

for no reason,

and you stripped the clothing from the naked. ¹⁰ 

22:7 You gave the weary ¹¹  no water to drink

and from the hungry you withheld food.

22:8 Although you were a powerful man, ¹²  owning land, ¹³ 

an honored man ¹⁴  living on it, ¹⁵ 

22:9 you sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms ¹⁶  of the orphans you crushed. ¹⁷ 

22:10 That is why snares surround you,

and why sudden fear terrifies you,

22:11 why it is so dark you cannot see, ¹⁸ 

and why a flood ¹⁹  of water covers you.

22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven? ²⁰ 

And see ²¹  the lofty stars, ²²  how high they are!

22:13 But you have said, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such deep darkness? ²³ 

22:14 Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us, ²⁴ 

as he goes back and forth

in the vault ²⁵  of heaven.’ ²⁶ 

22:15 Will you keep to the old path ²⁷ 

that evil men have walked –

22:16 men ²⁸  who were carried off ²⁹  before their time, ³⁰ 

when the flood ³¹  was poured out ³² 

on their foundations? ³³ 

22:17 They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ ³⁴ 

22:18 But it was he ³⁵  who filled their houses

with good things –

yet the counsel of the wicked ³⁶ 

was far from me. ³⁷ 

22:19 The righteous see their destruction ³⁸  and rejoice;

the innocent mock them scornfully, ³⁹  saying,

22:20 ‘Surely our enemies ⁴⁰  are destroyed,

and fire consumes their wealth.’

22:21 “Reconcile yourself ⁴¹  with God, ⁴² 

and be at peace ⁴³  with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

22:22 Accept instruction ⁴⁴  from his mouth

and store up his words ⁴⁵  in your heart.

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; ⁴⁶ 

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

22:24 and throw ⁴⁷  your gold ⁴⁸  in the dust –

your gold ⁴⁹  of Ophir

among the rocks in the ravines –

22:25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold, ⁵⁰ 

and the choicest ⁵¹  silver for you.

22:26 Surely then you will delight yourself ⁵²  in the Almighty,

and will lift up your face toward God.

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him. ⁵³ 

22:28 Whatever you decide ⁵⁴  on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

22:29 When people are brought low ⁵⁵  and you say

‘Lift them up!’ ⁵⁶ 

then he will save the downcast; ⁵⁷ 

22:30 he will deliver even someone who is not innocent, ⁵⁸ 

who will escape ⁵⁹  through the cleanness of your hands.”

Proverbs 8:7-8

8:7 For my mouth ⁶⁰  speaks truth, ⁶¹ 

and my lips ⁶²  hate wickedness. ⁶³ 

8:8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; ⁶⁴ 

there is nothing in them twisted ⁶⁵  or crooked.

Proverbs 8:2

8:2 At the top ⁶⁶  of the elevated places along the way,

at the intersection ⁶⁷  of the paths she takes her stand;

Colossians 2:17

2:17 these are only ⁶⁸  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ⁶⁹  is Christ! ⁷⁰ 

[13:4]  ¹ tn The טֹפְלֵי־שָׁקֶר (tofÿle shaqer) are “plasterers of lies” (Ps 119:69). The verb means “to coat, smear, plaster.” The idea is that of imputing something that is not true. Job is saying that his friends are inventors of lies. The LXX was influenced by the next line and came up with “false physicians.”

[13:4]  ² tn The literal rendering of the construct would be “healers of worthlessness.” Ewald and Dillmann translated it “patchers” based on a meaning in Arabic and Ethiopic; this would give the idea “botchers.” But it makes equally good sense to take “healers” as the meaning, for Job’s friends came to minister comfort and restoration to him – but they failed. See P. Humbert, “Maladie et medicine dans l’AT,” RHPR 44 (1964): 1-29.

[13:7]  ³ tn The construction literally reads “speak iniquity.” The form functions adverbially. The noun עַוְלָה (’avlah) means “perversion; injustice; iniquity; falsehood.” Here it is parallel to רְמִיָּה (rÿmiyyah, “fraud; deceit; treachery”).

[13:7]  ⁴ tn The expression “for God” means “in favor of God” or “on God’s behalf.” Job is amazed that they will say false things on God’s behalf.

[21:27]  ⁵ tn The word is “your thoughts.” The word for “thoughts” (from חָצַב [khatsav, “to think; to reckon; to plan”]) has more to do with their intent than their general thoughts. He knows that when they talked about the fate of the wicked they really were talking about him.

[21:27]  ⁶ tn For the meaning of this word, and its root זָמַם (zamam), see Job 17:11. It usually means the “plans” or “schemes” that are concocted against someone.

[21:27]  ⁷ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 321) distinguishes the verb חָמַס (khamas) from the noun for “violence.” He proposes a meaning of “think, imagine”: “and the ideas you imagined about me.”

[21:34]  ⁸ tn The word מָעַל (ma’al) is used for “treachery; deception; fraud.” Here Job is saying that their way of interpreting reality is dangerously unfaithful.

[22:6]  ⁹ tn The verb חָבַל (khaval) means “to take pledges.” In this verse Eliphaz says that Job not only took as pledge things the poor need, like clothing, but he did it for no reason.

[22:6]  ¹⁰ tn The “naked” here refers to people who are poorly clothed. Otherwise, a reading like the NIV would be necessary: “you stripped the clothes…[leaving them] naked.” So either he made them naked by stripping their garments off, or they were already in rags.

[22:7]  ¹¹ tn The term עָיֵף (’ayef) can be translated “weary,” “faint,” “exhausted,” or “tired.” Here it may refer to the fainting because of thirst – that would make a good parallel to the second part.

[22:8]  ¹² tn The idiom is “a man of arm” (= “powerful”; see Ps 10:15). This is in comparison to the next line, “man of face” (= “dignity; high rank”; see Isa 3:5).

[22:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and a man of arm, to whom [was] land.” The line is in contrast to the preceding one, and so the vav here introduces a concessive clause.

[22:8]  ¹⁴ tn The expression is unusual: “the one lifted up of face.” This is the “honored one,” the one to whom the dignity will be given.

[22:8]  ¹⁵ tn Many commentators simply delete the verse or move it elsewhere. Most take it as a general reference to Job, perhaps in apposition to the preceding verse.

[22:9]  ¹⁶ tn The “arms of the orphans” are their helps or rights on which they depended for support.

[22:9]  ¹⁷ tn The verb in the text is Pual: יְדֻכָּא (yÿdukka’, “was [were] crushed”). GKC 388 §121.b would explain “arms” as the complement of a passive imperfect. But if that is too difficult, then a change to Piel imperfect, second person, will solve the difficulty. In its favor is the parallelism, the use of the second person all throughout the section, and the reading in all the versions. The versions may have simply assumed the easier reading, however.

[22:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “or dark you cannot see.” Some commentators and the RSV follow the LXX in reading אוֹ (’o, “or”) as אוֹר (’or, “light”) and translate it “The light has become dark” or “Your light has become dark.” A. B. Davidson suggests the reading “Or seest thou not the darkness.” This would mean Job does not understand the true meaning of the darkness and the calamities.

[22:11]  ¹⁹ tn The word שִׁפְעַת (shif’at) means “multitude of.” It is used of men, camels, horses, and here of waters in the heavens.

[22:12]  ²⁰ tn This reading preserves the text as it is. The nouns “high” and “heavens” would then be taken as adverbial accusatives of place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).

[22:12]  ²¹ tn The parallel passage in Isa 40:26-27, as well as the context here, shows that the imperative is to be retained here. The LXX has “he sees.”

[22:12]  ²² tn Heb “head of the stars.”

[22:13]  ²³ sn Eliphaz is giving to Job the thoughts and words of the pagans, for they say, “How does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?” (see Ps 73:11; 94:11).

[22:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he does not see.” The implied object is “us.”

[22:14]  ²⁵ sn The word is “circle; dome”; here it is the dome that covers the earth, beyond which God sits enthroned. A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) suggests “on the arch of heaven” that covers the earth.

[22:14]  ²⁶ sn The idea suggested here is that God is not only far off, but he is unconcerned as he strolls around heaven – this is what Eliphaz says Job means.

[22:15]  ²⁷ tn The “old path” here is the way of defiance to God. The text in these two verses is no doubt making reference to the flood in Genesis, one of the perennial examples of divine judgment.

[22:16]  ²⁸ tn The word “men” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the relative pronoun “who.”

[22:16]  ²⁹ tn The verb קָמַט (qamat) basically means “to seize; to tie together to make a bundle.” So the Pual will mean “to be bundled away; to be carried off.”

[22:16]  ³⁰ tn The clause has “and [it was] not the time.” It may be used adverbially here.

[22:16]  ³¹ tn The word is נָהַר (nahar, “river” or “current”); it is taken here in its broadest sense of the waters on the earth that formed the current of the flood (Gen 7:6, 10).

[22:16]  ³² tn The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out; to shed; to spill; to flow.” The Pual means “to be poured out” (as in Lev 21:10 and Ps 45:3).

[22:16]  ³³ tn This word is then to be taken as an adverbial accusative of place. Another way to look at this verse is what A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) proposes “whose foundation was poured away and became a flood.” This would mean that that on which they stood sank away.

[22:17]  ³⁴ tn The form in the text is “to them.” The LXX and the Syriac versions have “to us.”

[22:18]  ³⁵ tn The pronoun is added for this emphasis; it has “but he” before the verb.

[22:18]  ³⁶ tn See Job 10:3.

[22:18]  ³⁷ tc The LXX has “from him,” and this is followed by several commentators. But the MT is to be retained, for Eliphaz is recalling the words of Job. Verses 17 and 18 are deleted by a number of commentators as a gloss because they have many similarities to 21:14-16. But Eliphaz is recalling what Job said, in order to say that the prosperity to which Job alluded was only the prelude to a disaster he denied (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 156).

[22:19]  ³⁸ tn The line is talking about the rejoicing of the righteous when judgment falls on the wicked. An object (“destruction”) has to be supplied here to clarify this (see Pss 52:6 [8]; 69:32 [33]; 107:42).

[22:19]  ³⁹ sn In Ps 2:4 it was God who mocked the wicked by judging them.

[22:20]  ⁴⁰ tc The word translated “our enemies” is found only here. The word means “hostility,” but used here as a collective for those who are hostile – “enemies.” Some commentators follow the LXX and read “possessions,” explaining its meaning and derivation in different ways. Gordis simply takes the word in the text and affirms that this is the meaning. On the other hand, to get this, E. Dhorme (Job, 336) repoints קִימָנוּ (qimanu) of the MT to יְקוּמַם (yÿqumam), arguing that יְקוּם (yÿqum) means “what exists [or has substance]” (although that is used of animals). He translates: “have not their possessions been destroyed.”

[22:21]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:21]  ⁴³ tn The two imperatives in this verse imply a relationship of succession and not consequence.

[22:22]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew word here is תּוֹרָה (torah), its only occurrence in the book of Job.

[22:22]  ⁴⁵ tc M. Dahood has “write his words” (“Metaphor in Job 22:22,” Bib 47 [1966]: 108-9).

[22:23]  ⁴⁶ tc The MT has “you will be built up” (תִּבָּנֶה, tibbaneh). But the LXX has “humble yourself” (reading תְּעַנֶּה [tÿ’anneh] apparently). Many commentators read this; Dahood has “you will be healed.”

[22:24]  ⁴⁷ tc The form is the imperative. Eliphaz is telling Job to get rid of his gold as evidence of his repentance. Many commentators think that this is too improbable for Eliphaz to have said, and that Job has lost everything anyway, and so they make proposals for the text. Most would follow Theodotion and the Syriac to read וְשָׁתָּ (vÿshatta, “and you will esteem….”). This would mean that he is promising Job restoration of his wealth.

[22:24]  ⁴⁸ tn The word for “gold” is the rare בֶּצֶר (betser), which may be derived from a cognate of Arabic basara, “to see; to examine.” If this is the case, the word here would refer to refined gold. The word also forms a fine wordplay with בְצוּר (bÿtsur, “in the rock”).

[22:24]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “Ophir,” a metonymy for the gold that comes from there.

[22:25]  ⁵⁰ tn The form for “gold” here is plural, which could be a plural of extension. The LXX and Latin versions have “The Almighty will be your helper against your enemies.”

[22:25]  ⁵¹ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 339) connects this word with an Arabic root meaning “to be elevated, steep.” From that he gets “heaps of silver.”

[22:26]  ⁵² tc This is the same verb as in Ps 37:4. G. R. Driver suggests the word comes from another root that means “abandon oneself to, depend on” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 84).

[22:27]  ⁵³ tn The words “to him” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[22:28]  ⁵⁴ tn The word is גָּזַר (gazar, “to cut”), in the sense of deciding a matter.

[22:29]  ⁵⁵ tn There is no expressed subject here, and so the verb is taken as a passive voice again.

[22:29]  ⁵⁶ tn The word גֵּוָה (gevah) means “loftiness; pride.” Here it simply says “up,” or “pride.” The rest is paraphrased. Of the many suggestions, the following provide a sampling: “It is because of pride” (ESV), “he abases pride” (H. H. Rowley); “[he abases] the lofty and the proud” (Beer); “[he abases] the word of pride” [Duhm]; “[he abases] the haughtiness of pride” [Fohrer and others]; “[he abases] the one who speaks proudly” [Weiser]; “[he abases] the one who boasts in pride” [Kissane]; and “God [abases] pride” [Budde, Gray].

[22:29]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “humble”; Heb “the lowly of eyes.”

[22:30]  ⁵⁸ tc The Hebrew has אִי־נָקִי (’i naqi), which could be taken as “island of the innocent” (so Ibn-Ezra), or “him that is not innocent” (so Rashi). But some have changed אִי (’i) to אִישׁ (’ish, “the innocent man”). Others differ: A. Guillaume links אִי (’i) to Arabic ‘ayya “whosoever,” and so leaves the text alone. M. Dahood secures the same idea from Ugaritic, but reads it אֵי (’e).

[22:30]  ⁵⁹ tc The MT has “he will escape [or be delivered].” Theodotion has the second person, “you will be delivered.”

[8:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “roof of the mouth.” This expression is a metonymy of cause for the activity of speaking.

[8:7]  ⁶¹ tn The word “truth” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is derived from the verbal root אָמַן (’aman) which means “to support.” There are a number of derived nouns that have the sense of reliability: “pillars,” “master craftsman,” “nurse,” “guardian.” Modifiers related to this group of words includes things like “faithful,” “surely,” “truly” (amen). In the derived stems the verb develops various nuances: The Niphal has the meanings of “reliable, faithful, sure, steadfast,” and the Hiphil has the meaning “believe” (i.e., consider something dependable). The noun “truth” means what is reliable or dependable, firm or sure.

[8:7]  ⁶² sn Wise lips detest wickedness; wisdom hates speaking wicked things. In fact, speaking truth results in part from detesting wickedness.

[8:7]  ⁶³ tn Heb “wickedness is an abomination to my lips” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:8]  ⁶⁴ tn The phrase could be rendered with an understood ellipsis: “all the words of my mouth [are said] in righteousness”; or the preposition could be interpreted as a beth essentiae: “all the words of my mouth are righteousness.”

[8:8]  ⁶⁵ sn The verb פָּתַל (patal) means “to twist.” In the Niphal it means “to wrestle” (to twist oneself). It was used in Gen 30:8 for the naming of Naphtali, with the motivation for the name from this verb: “with great struggling.” Here it describes speech that is twisted. It is a synonym for the next word, which means “twisted; crooked; perverse.”

[8:2]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “head.” The word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head”) refers to the highest area or most important place in the elevated area. The contrast with chapter 7 is striking. There the wayward woman lurked at the corners in the street at night; here wisdom is at the highest point in the open places in view of all.

[8:2]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “at the house of the paths.” The “house” is not literal here, but refers to where the paths meet (cf. ASV, NIV), that is, the “crossroads” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[2:17]  ⁶⁸ tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ⁷⁰ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”