Job 21:23

Death Levels Everything

21:23 “One man dies in his full vigor, ¹ 

completely secure and prosperous,

Job 21:32-34

21:32 And when he is carried to the tombs,

and watch is kept ²  over the funeral mound, ³ 

21:33 The clods of the torrent valley ⁴  are sweet to him;

behind him everybody follows in procession,

and before him goes a countless throng.

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

Nothing is left of your answers but deception!” ⁵ 

[21:23]  ¹ tn The line has “in the bone of his perfection.” The word עֶצֶם (’etsem), which means “bone,” is used pronominally to express “the same, very”; here it is “in the very fullness of his strength” (see GKC 449 §139.g). The abstract תֹּם (tom) is used here in the sense of physical perfection and strengths.

[21:32]  ² tn The verb says “he will watch.” The subject is unspecified, so the translation is passive.

[21:32]  ³ tn The Hebrew word refers to the tumulus, the burial mound that is erected on the spot where the person is buried.

[21:33]  ⁴ tn The clods are those that are used to make a mound over the body. And, for a burial in the valley, see Deut 34:6. The verse here sees him as participating in his funeral and enjoying it. Nothing seems to go wrong with the wicked.

[21:34]  ⁵ 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.