Job 15:4

15:4 But you even break off ¹  piety, ² 

and hinder ³  meditation ⁴  before God.

Job 22:14

22:14 Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us, ⁵ 

as he goes back and forth

in the vault ⁶  of heaven.’ ⁷ 

Job 31:4

31:4 Does he not see my ways

and count all my steps?

Job 34:21

34:21 For his eyes are on the ways of an individual,

he observes all a person’s ⁸  steps.

Job 37:24

37:24 Therefore people fear him,

for he does not regard all the wise in heart.” ⁹ 

[15:4]  ¹ tn The word פָּרַר (parar) in the Hiphil means “to annul; to frustrate; to destroy; to break,” and this fits the line quite well. The NEB reflects G. R. Driver’s suggestion of an Arabic cognate meaning “to expel; to banish” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 77).

[15:4]  ² tn Heb “fear,” “reverence.”

[15:4]  ³ tn The word גָּרַע (gara’) means “to diminish,” regard as insignificant, occasionally with the sense of “pull down” (Deut 4:2; 13:1). It is here that Eliphaz is portraying Job as a menace to the religion of society because they dissuade people from seeking God.

[15:4]  ⁴ tn The word שִׂיחָה (sikhah) is “complaint; cry; meditation.” Job would be influencing people to challenge God and not to meditate before or pray to him.

[22:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he does not see.” The implied object is “us.”

[22:14]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[34:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (a person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:24]  ¹³ sn The phrase “wise of heart” was used in Job 9:4 in a negative sense.