Job 23:13-17

23:13 But he is unchangeable, ¹  and who can change ²  him?

Whatever he ³  has desired, he does.

23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me, ⁴ 

and many such things are his plans. ⁵ 

23:15 That is why I am terrified in his presence;

when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

23:16 Indeed, God has made my heart faint; ⁶ 

the Almighty has terrified me.

23:17 Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness,

because of the thick darkness

that covered my face. ⁷ 

[23:13]  ¹ tc The MT has “But he [is] in one.” Many add the word “mind” to capture the point that God is resolute and unchanging. Some commentators find this too difficult, and so change the text from בְאֶחָד (bÿ’ekhad, here “unchangeable”) to בָחָר (bakhar, “he has chosen”). The wording in the text is idiomatic and should be retained. R. Gordis (Job, 262) translates it “he is one, i.e., unchangeable, fixed, determined.” The preposition בּ (bet) is a bet essentiae – “and he [is] as one,” or “he is one” (see GKC 379 §119.i).

[23:13]  ² tn Heb “cause him to return.”

[23:13]  ³ tn Or “his soul.”

[23:14]  ⁴ tn The text has “my decree,” which means “the decree [plan] for/against me.” The suffix is objective, equivalent to a dative of disadvantage. The Syriac and the Vulgate actually have “his decree.” R. Gordis (Job, 262) suggests taking it in the same sense as in Job 14:5: “my limit.”.

[23:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and many such [things] are with him.”

[23:16]  ⁶ tn The verb הֵרַךְ (kherakh) means “to be tender”; in the Piel it would have the meaning “to soften.” The word is used in parallel constructions with the verbs for “fear.” The implication is that God has made Job fearful.

[23:17]  ⁷ tn This is a very difficult verse. The Hebrew text literally says: “for I have not been destroyed because of darkness, and because of my face [which] gloom has covered.” Most commentators omit the negative adverb, which gives the meaning that Job is enveloped in darkness and reduced to terror. The verb נִצְמַתִּי (nitsmatti) means “I have been silent” (as in Arabic and Aramaic), and so obviously the negative must be retained – he has not been silent.