Job 25:4

25:4 How then can a human being be righteous before God?

How can one born of a woman be pure? ¹ 

Job 15:12

15:12 Why ²  has your heart carried you away, ³ 

and why do your eyes flash, ⁴ 

Job 3:12

3:12 Why did the knees welcome me, ⁵ 

and why were there ⁶  two breasts ⁷ 

that I might nurse at them? ⁸ 

Job 6:24-25

No Sin Discovered

6:24 “Teach ⁹  me and I, for my part, ¹⁰  will be silent;

explain to me ¹¹  how I have been mistaken. ¹² 

6:25 How painful ¹³  are honest words!

But ¹⁴  what does your reproof ¹⁵  prove? ¹⁶ 

Job 22:17

22:17 They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ ¹⁷ 

Job 31:1-2

Job Vindicates Himself

31:1 “I made a covenant with ¹⁸  my eyes;

how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin? ¹⁹ 

31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,

one’s heritage from the Almighty ²⁰  on high?

Job 6:11

6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait? ²¹ 

and what is my end, ²² 

that I should prolong my life?

Job 9:2

9:2 “Truly, ²³  I know that this is so.

But how ²⁴  can a human ²⁵  be just before ²⁶  God? ²⁷ 

Job 21:15

21:15 Who is the Almighty, that ²⁸  we should serve him?

What would we gain

if we were to pray ²⁹  to him?’ ³⁰ 

Job 31:14

31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; ³¹ 

when he intervenes, ³² 

how will I respond to him?

Job 34:33

34:33 Is it your opinion ³³  that God ³⁴  should recompense it,

because you reject this? ³⁵ 

But you must choose, and not I,

so tell us what you know.

Job 7:21

7:21 And why do you not pardon my transgression,

and take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust, ³⁶ 

and you will seek me diligently, ³⁷ 

but I will be gone.”

Job 26:14

26:14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! ³⁸ 

How faint is the whisper ³⁹  we hear of him!

But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

[25:4]  ¹ sn Bildad here does not come up with new expressions; rather, he simply uses what Eliphaz had said (see Job 4:17-19 and 15:14-16).

[15:12]  ² tn The interrogative מָה (mah) here has the sense of “why?” (see Job 7:21).

[15:12]  ³ tn The verb simply means “to take.” The RSV has “carry you away.” E. Dhorme (Job, 212-13) goes further, saying that it implies being unhinged by passion, to be carried away by the passions beyond good sense (pp. 212-13). Pope and Tur-Sinai suggest that the suffix on the verb is datival, and translate it, “What has taken from you your mind?” But the parallelism shows that “your heart” and “your eyes” are subjects.

[15:12]  ⁴ tn Here is another word that occurs only here, and in the absence of a completely convincing suggestion, probably should be left as it is. The verb is רָזַם (razam, “wink, flash”). Targum Job and the Syriac equate it with a verb found in Aramaic and postbiblical Hebrew with the same letters but metathesized – רָמַז (ramaz). It would mean “to make a sign” or “to wink.” Budde, following the LXX probably, has “Why are your eyes lofty?” Others follow an Arabic root meaning “become weak.”

[3:12]  ³ tn The verb קִדְּמוּנִי (qiddÿmuni) is the Piel from קָדַם (qadam), meaning “to come before; to meet; to prevent.” Here it has the idea of going to meet or welcome someone. In spite of various attempts to connect the idea to the father or to adoption rites, it probably simply means the mother’s knees that welcome the child for nursing. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 42.

[3:12]  ⁴ tn There is no verb in the second half of the verse. The idea simply has, “and why breasts that I might suck?”

[3:12]  ⁵ sn The commentaries mention the parallel construction in the writings of Ashurbanipal: “You were weak, Ashurbanipal, you who sat on the knees of the goddess, queen of Nineveh; of the four teats that were placed near to your mouth, you sucked two and you hid your face in the others” (M. Streck, Assurbanipal [VAB], 348).

[3:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “that I might suckle.” The verb is the Qal imperfect of יָנַק (yanaq, “suckle”). Here the clause is subordinated to the preceding question and so function as a final imperfect.

[6:24]  ⁴ tn The verb “teach” or “instruct” is the Hiphil הוֹרוּנִי (horuni), from the verb יָרָה (yarah); the basic idea of “point, direct” lies behind this meaning. The verb is cognate to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “instruction, teaching, law”).

[6:24]  ⁵ tn The independent personal pronoun makes the subject of the verb emphatic: “and I will be silent.”

[6:24]  ⁶ tn The verb is הָבִינוּ (havinu, “to cause someone to understand”); with the ל (lamed) following, it has the sense of “explain to me.”

[6:24]  ⁷ tn The verb שָׁגָה (shagah) has the sense of “wandering, getting lost, being mistaken.”

[6:25]  ⁵ tn The word נִּמְרְצוּ (nimrÿtsu, “[they] painful are”) may be connected to מָרַץ (marats, “to be ill”). This would give the idea of “how distressing,” or “painful” in this stem. G. R. Driver (JTS 29 [1927/28]: 390-96) connected it to an Akkadian cognate “to be ill” and rendered it “bitter.” It has also been linked with מָרַס (maras), meaning “to be hard, strong,” giving the idea of “how persuasive” (see N. S. Doniach and W. E. Barnes, “Job 4:25: The Root Maras,” JTS [1929/30]: 291-92). There seems more support for the meaning “to be ill” (cf. Mal 2:10). Others follow Targum Job “how pleasant [to my palate are your words]”; E. Dhorme (Job, 92) follows this without changing the text but noting that the word has an interchange of letter with מָלַץ (malats) for מָרַץ (marats).

[6:25]  ⁶ tn The וּ (vav) here introduces the antithesis (GKC 484-85 §154.a).

[6:25]  ⁷ tn The infinitive הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh, “reproof,” from יָכַח [yakhakh, “prove”]) becomes the subject of the verb from the same root, יוֹכִיהַ (yokhiakh), and so serves as a noun (see GKC 340 §113.b). This verb means “to dispute, quarrel, argue, contend” (see BDB 406-7 s.v. יָכַח). Job is saying, “What does reproof from you prove?”

[6:25]  ⁸ tn The LXX again paraphrases this line: “But as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, because I do not ask strength of you.” But the rest of the versions are equally divided on the verse.

[22:17]  ⁶ tn The form in the text is “to them.” The LXX and the Syriac versions have “to us.”

[31:1]  ⁷ tn The idea of cutting a covenant for something may suggest a covenant that is imposed, except that this construction elsewhere argues against it (see 2 Chr 29:10).

[31:1]  ⁸ tn This half-verse is the effect of the covenant. The interrogative מָה (mah) may have the force of the negative, and so be translated “not to pay attention.”

[31:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “lot of Shaddai,” which must mean “the lot from Shaddai,” a genitive of source.

[6:11]  ⁹ sn Now, in vv. 11-13, Job proceeds to describe his hopeless condition. In so doing, he is continuing his defense of his despair and lament. The section begins with these rhetorical questions in which Job affirms that he does not have the strength to wait for the blessings that Eliphaz is talking about.

[6:11]  ¹⁰ tn The word translated “my end” is קִצִּי (qitsi). It refers to the termination of his life. In Ps 39:5 it is parallel to “the measure of my days.” In a sense, Job is asking what future he has. To him, the “end” of his affliction can only be death.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn The adverb אָמְנָם (’omnam, “in truth”) is characteristic of the Book of Job (12:2; 19:4; 34:12; 36:4). The friends make commonplace statements, general truths, and Job responds with “truly I know this is so.” Job knows as much about these themes as his friends do.

[9:2]  ¹¹ sn The interrogative is used to express what is an impossibility.

[9:2]  ¹² tn The attempt to define אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) as “weak” or “mortal” man is not compelling. Such interpretations are based on etymological links without the clear support of usage (an issue discussed by J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament). This seems to be a poetic word for “human” (the only nonpoetic use is in 2 Chr 14:10).

[9:2]  ¹³ tn The preposition is אִם (’im, “with, before, in the presence of”). This is more specific than מִן (min) in 4:17.

[9:2]  ¹⁴ sn The point of Job’s rhetorical question is that man cannot be justified as against God, because God is too powerful and too clever – he controls the universe. He is discussing now the question that Eliphaz raised in 4:17. Peake observes that Job is raising the question of whether something is right because God says it is right, or that God declares it right because it is right.

[21:15]  ¹¹ tn The interrogative clause is followed by ki, similar to Exod 5:2, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him?”

[21:15]  ¹² tn The verb פָּגַע (paga’) means “to encounter; to meet,” but also “to meet with request; to intercede; to interpose.” The latter meaning is a derived meaning by usage.

[21:15]  ¹³ tn The verse is not present in the LXX. It may be that it was considered too blasphemous and therefore omitted.

[31:14]  ¹² tn Heb “arises.” The LXX reads “takes vengeance,” an interpretation that is somewhat correct but unnecessary. The verb “to rise” would mean “to confront in judgment.”

[31:14]  ¹³ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” but with God as the subject it means any divine intervention for blessing or cursing, anything God does that changes a person’s life. Here it is “visit to judge.”

[34:33]  ¹³ tn Heb “is it from with you,” an idiomatic expression meaning “to suit you” or “according to your judgment.”

[34:33]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:33]  ¹⁵ tn There is no object on the verb, and the meaning is perhaps lost. The best guess is that Elihu is saying Job has rejected his teaching.

[7:21]  ¹⁴ tn The LXX has, “for now I will depart to the earth.”

[7:21]  ¹⁵ tn The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar) in the Piel has been translated “to seek early in the morning” because of the possible link with the word “dawn.” But the verb more properly means “to seek diligently” (by implication).

[26:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the ends of his ways,” meaning “the fringes.”

[26:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “how little is the word.” Here “little” means a “fraction” or an “echo.”