Job 15:30

15:30 He will not escape the darkness; ¹ 

a flame will wither his shoots

and he will depart

by the breath of God’s mouth. ² 

Job 34:33

34:33 Is it your opinion ³  that God ⁴  should recompense it,

because you reject this? ⁵ 

But you must choose, and not I,

so tell us what you know.

[15:30]  ¹ tn Some editions and commentators delete the first line of this verse, arguing that it is simply a paraphrase of v. 22a, and that it interrupts the comparison with a tree that falls (although that comparison only starts next).

[15:30]  ² tn This last line in the verse is the difficult one. The MT has “he shall depart by the breath of his mouth.” If this reading stands, then it must be understood that it is the breath of God’s mouth that is intended. In place of “his mouth” the LXX has “flower” (reading פִּרהוֹ [pirho, properly, “his fruit”] instead of פִּיו piv), and “fall” instead of “depart.” Modern commentators and a number of English versions (e.g., RSV, NRSV, TEV) alter יָסוּר (yasur, “depart”) to something like יְסֹעַר (yÿso’ar, from סָעַר [sa’ar, “to drive away”]), or the like, to get “will be swept away.” The result is a reading: “and his blossom will be swept away by the wind.” The LXX may have read the Hebrew exactly, but harmonized it with v. 33 (see H. Heater, A Septuagint Translation Technique in the Book of Job [CBQMS]: 61-62).

[34:33]  ³ tn Heb “is it from with you,” an idiomatic expression meaning “to suit you” or “according to your judgment.”

[34:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:33]  ⁵ 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.