Job 14:5

14:5 Since man’s days ¹  are determined, ² 

the number of his months is under your control; ³ 

you have set his limit ⁴  and he cannot pass it.

Job 24:20

24:20 The womb ⁵  forgets him,

the worm feasts on him,

no longer will he be remembered.

Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.

Job 34:33

34:33 Is it your opinion ⁶  that God ⁷  should recompense it,

because you reject this? ⁸ 

But you must choose, and not I,

so tell us what you know.

[14:5]  ¹ tn Heb “his days.”

[14:5]  ² tn The passive participle is from חָרַץ (kharats), which means “determined.” The word literally means “cut” (Lev 22:22, “mutilated”). E. Dhorme, (Job, 197) takes it to mean “engraved” as on stone; from a custom of inscribing decrees on tablets of stone he derives the meaning here of “decreed.” This, he argues, is parallel to the way חָקַק (khaqaq, “engrave”) is used. The word חֹק (khoq) is an “ordinance” or “statute”; the idea is connected to the verb “to engrave.” The LXX has “if his life should be but one day on the earth, and his months are numbered by him, you have appointed him for a time and he shall by no means exceed it.”

[14:5]  ³ tn Heb “[is] with you.” This clearly means under God’s control.

[14:5]  ⁴ tn The word חֹק (khoq) has the meanings of “decree, decision, and limit” (cf. Job 28:26; 38:10).

[24:20]  ⁵ tn Here “womb” is synecdoche, representing one’s mother.

[34:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “is it from with you,” an idiomatic expression meaning “to suit you” or “according to your judgment.”

[34:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:33]  ¹¹ tn There is no object on the verb, and the meaning is perhaps lost. The best guess is that Elihu is saying Job has rejected his teaching.