Job 27:7-10

The Condition of the Wicked

27:7 “May my enemy be like the wicked, ¹ 

my adversary ²  like the unrighteous. ³ 

27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, ⁴ 

when God takes away his life? ⁵ 

27:9 Does God listen to his cry

when distress overtakes him?

27:10 Will he find delight ⁶  in the Almighty?

Will he call out to God at all times?

[27:7]  ¹ sn Of course, he means like his enemy when he is judged, not when he is thriving in prosperity and luxury.

[27:7]  ² tn The form is the Hitpolel participle from קוּם (qum): “those who are rising up against me,” or “my adversary.”

[27:7]  ³ tc The LXX made a free paraphrase: “No, but let my enemies be as the overthrow of the ungodly, and they that rise up against me as the destruction of transgressors.”

[27:8]  ⁴ tn The verb יִבְצָע (yivtsa’) means “to cut off.” It could be translated transitively or intransitively – the latter is better here (“when he is cut off”). Since the next line speaks of prayer, some have thought this verse should be about prayer. Mandelkern, in his concordance (p. 228b), suggested the verb should be “when he prays” (reading יִפְגַּע [yifga’] in place of יִבְצָע [yivtsa’]).

[27:8]  ⁵ tn The verb יֵשֶׁל (yeshel) is found only here. It has been related spoils [or sheaves]”); שָׁאַל (sha’al, “to ask”); נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up” [i.e., pray]); and a host of others.

[27:10]  ⁶ tn See the note on 22:26 where the same verb is employed.