Job 21:33

21:33 The clods of the torrent valley ¹  are sweet to him;

behind him everybody follows in procession,

and before him goes a countless throng.

Job 28:14

28:14 The deep ²  says, ‘It is not with ³  me.’

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

Job 32:5

32:5 But when Elihu saw ⁴  that the three men had no further reply, ⁵  he became very angry.

Job 32:12

32:12 Now I was paying you close attention, ⁶ 

yet ⁷  there was no one proving Job wrong, ⁸ 

not one of you was answering his statements!

Job 35:15

35:15 And further, ⁹  when you say

that his anger does not punish, ¹⁰ 

and that he does not know transgression! ¹¹ 

[21:33]  ¹ 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.

[28:14]  ² sn The תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) is the “deep” of Gen 1:2, the abyss or primordial sea. It was always understood to be a place of darkness and danger. As remote as it is, it asserts that wisdom is not found there (personification). So here we have the abyss and the sea, then death and destruction – but they are not the places that wisdom resides.

[28:14]  ³ tn The בּ (bet) preposition is taken here to mean “with” in the light of the parallel preposition.

[32:5]  ³ tn The first clause beginning with a vav (ו) consecutive and the preterite can be subordinated to the next similar verb as a temporal clause.

[32:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “that there was no reply in the mouth of the three men.”

[32:12]  ⁴ tn The verb again is from בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand”); in this stem it means to “to pay close attention.”

[32:12]  ⁵ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) has a deictic force here, calling attention to the thought that is now presented.

[32:12]  ⁶ tn The participle מוֹכִיחַ (mokhiakh) is from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh) that has been used frequently in the book of Job. It means “to argue; to contend; to debate; to prove; to dispute.” The usage of the verb shows that it can focus on the beginning of an argument, the debating itself, or the resolution of the conflict. Here the latter is obviously meant, for they did argue and contend and criticize – but could not prove Job wrong.

[35:15]  ⁵ tn The expression “and now” introduces a new complaint of Elihu – in addition to the preceding. Here the verb of v. 14, “you say,” is understood after the temporal ki (כִּי).

[35:15]  ⁶ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit” (also “to appoint; to muster; to number”). When God visits, it means that he intervenes in one’s life for blessing or cursing (punishing, destroying).

[35:15]  ⁷ tn The word פַּשׁ (pash) is a hapax legomenon. K&D 12:275 derived it from an Arabic word meaning “belch,” leading to the idea of “overflow.” BDB 832 s.v. defines it as “folly.” Several define it as “transgression” on the basis of the versions (Theodotion, Symmachus, Vulgate). The RSV took it as “greatly heed,” but that is not exactly “greatly know,” when the text beyond that requires “not know at all.” The NIV has “he does not take the least notice of wickedness.”