Job 16:5

16:5 But ¹  I would strengthen ²  you with my words; ³ 

comfort from my lips would bring ⁴  you relief.

Job 21:30

21:30 that the evil man is spared

from the day of his misfortune,

that he is delivered ⁵ 

from the day of God’s wrath?

Job 30:10

30:10 They detest me and maintain their distance; ⁶ 

they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

Job 33:18

33:18 He spares a person’s life from corruption, ⁷ 

his very life from crossing over ⁸  the river.

Job 38:23

38:23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,

for the day of war and battle? ⁹ 

Job 7:11

Job Remonstrates with God

7:11 “Therefore, ¹⁰  I will not refrain my mouth; ¹¹ 

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain ¹²  in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 16:6

Abandonment by God and Man

16:6 “But ¹³  if I speak, my pain is not relieved, ¹⁴ 

and if I refrain from speaking

– how ¹⁵  much of it goes away?

[16:5]  ¹ tn “But” has been added in the translation to strengthen the contrast.

[16:5]  ² tn The Piel of אָמַץ (’amats) means “to strengthen, fortify.”

[16:5]  ³ tn Heb “my mouth.”

[16:5]  ⁴ tn The verb יַחְשֹׂךְ (yakhsokh) means “to restrain; to withhold.” There is no object, so many make it first person subject, “I will not restrain.” The LXX and the Syriac have a different person – “I would not restrain.” G. R. Driver, arguing that the verb is intransitive here, made it “the solace of my lips would not [added] be withheld” (see JTS 34 [1933]: 380). D. J. A. Clines says that what is definitive is the use of the verb in the next line, where it clearly means “soothed, assuaged.”

[21:30]  ⁵ tn The verb means “to be led forth.” To be “led forth in the day of trouble” means to be delivered.

[30:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “they are far from me.”

[33:18]  ¹³ tn A number of interpreters and translations take this as “the pit” (see Job 17:14; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:18]  ¹⁴ tc Here is another difficult line. The verb normally means “to pass through; to pass over,” and so this word would normally mean “from passing through [or over].” The word שֶׁלַח (shelakh) does at times refer to a weapon, but most commentators look for a parallel with “the pit [or corruption].” One suggestion is שְׁאוֹלָה (shÿ’olah, “to Sheol”), proposed by Duhm. Dhorme thought it was שַׁלַח (shalakh) and referred to the passageway to the underworld (see M. Tsevat, VT 4 [1954]: 43; and Svi Rin, BZ 7 [1963]: 25). See discussion of options in HALOT 1517-18 s.v. IV שֶׁלַח. The idea of crossing the river of death fits the idea of the passage well, although the reading “to perish by the sword” makes sense and was followed by the NIV.

[38:23]  ¹⁷ sn The terms translated war and battle are different Hebrew words, but both may be translated “war” or “battle” depending on the context.

[7:11]  ²¹ tn “Also I” has been rendered frequently as “therefore,” introducing a conclusion. BDB 168-69 s.v. גַמּ lists Ps 52:7 [5] as a parallel, but it also could be explained as an adversative.

[7:11]  ²² sn “Mouth” here is metonymical for what he says – he will not withhold his complaints. Peake notes that in this section Job comes very close to doing what Satan said he would do. If he does not curse God to his face, he certainly does cast off restraints to his lament. But here Job excuses himself in advance of the lament.

[7:11]  ²³ tn The verb is not limited to mental musing; it is used for pouring out a complaint or a lament (see S. Mowinckel, “The Verb si^ah and the Nouns si^ah, siha,” ST 15 [1961]: 1-10).

[16:6]  ²⁵ tn “But” is supplied in the translation to strengthen the contrast.

[16:6]  ²⁶ tn The Niphal יֵחָשֵׂךְ (yekhasekh) means “to be soothed; to be assuaged.”

[16:6]  ²⁷ tn Some argue that מָה (mah) in the text is the Arabic ma, the simple negative. This would then mean “it does not depart far from me.” The interrogative used rhetorically amounts to the same thing, however, so the suggestion is not necessary.