Job 21:5

21:5 Look ¹  at me and be appalled;

put your hands over your mouths. ² 

Job 40:4

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ³  – how could I reply to you?

I put ⁴  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ⁵ 

Jude 1:19

1:19 These people are divisive, ⁶  worldly, ⁷  devoid of the Spirit. ⁸ 

Proverbs 30:32

30:32 If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself ⁹ 

or if you have planned evil,

put ¹⁰  your hand over your mouth!

[21:5]  ¹ tn The verb פְּנוּ (pÿnu) is from the verb “to turn,” related to the word for “face.” In calling for them to turn toward him, he is calling for them to look at him. But here it may be more in the sense of their attention rather than just a looking at him.

[21:5]  ² tn The idiom is “put a hand over a mouth,” the natural gesture for keeping silent and listening (cf. Job 29:9; 40:4; Mic 7:16).

[40:4]  ³ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ⁴ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ⁵ tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ⁶ tn Grk “these are the ones who cause divisions.”

[1:19]  ⁷ tn Or “natural,” that is, living on the level of instincts, not on a spiritual level (the same word occurs in 1 Cor 2:14 as a description of nonbelievers).

[1:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “not having [the] Spirit.”

[30:32]  ⁹ tn The construction has the בְּ (bet) preposition with the Hitpael infinitive construct, forming a temporal clause. This clause explains the way in which the person has acted foolishly.

[30:32]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “hand to mouth.” This express means “put your hand to your mouth” (e.g., Job 40:4, 5); cf. NIV “clap your hand over.”