Job 3:20

Longing for Death ¹ 

3:20 “Why does God ²  give ³  light to one who is in misery, ⁴ 

and life to those ⁵  whose soul is bitter,

Job 7:1

The Brevity of Life

7:1 “Does not humanity have hard service ⁶  on earth?

Are not their days also

like the days of a hired man? ⁷ 

Job 16:6

Abandonment by God and Man

16:6 “But ⁸  if I speak, my pain is not relieved, ⁹ 

and if I refrain from speaking

– how ¹⁰  much of it goes away?

Job 16:21

16:21 and ¹¹  he contends with God on behalf of man

as a man ¹²  pleads ¹³  for his friend.

Job 18:21

18:21 ‘Surely such is the residence ¹⁴  of an evil man;

and this is the place of one who has not known God.’” ¹⁵ 

Job 20:20

20:20 For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite; ¹⁶ 

he does not let anything he desires ¹⁷  escape. ¹⁸ 

Job 21:9

21:9 Their houses are safe ¹⁹  and without fear; ²⁰ 

and no rod of punishment ²¹  from God is upon them. ²² 

Job 24:1

The Apparent Indifference of God

24:1 “Why are times not appointed by ²³  the Almighty? ²⁴ 

Why do those who know him not see his days?

Job 26:8

26:8 He locks the waters in his clouds,

and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.

Job 27:19

27:19 He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. ²⁵ 

When he opens his eyes, it is all gone. ²⁶ 

Job 36:18

36:18 Be careful that ²⁷  no one entices you with riches;

do not let a large bribe ²⁸  turn you aside.

Job 39:24

39:24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground; ²⁹ 

it cannot stand still ³⁰  when the trumpet is blown.

Job 39:26

39:26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, ³¹ 

and spreads its wings toward the south?

[3:20]  ¹ sn Since he has survived birth, Job wonders why he could not have died a premature death. He wonders why God gives light and life to those who are in misery. His own condition throws gloom over life, and so he poses the question first generally, for many would prefer death to misery (20-22); then he comes to the individual, himself, who would prefer death (23). He closes his initial complaint with some depictions of his suffering that afflicts him and gives him no rest (24-26).

[3:20]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:20]  ³ tn The verb is the simple imperfect, expressing the progressive imperfect nuance. But there is no formal subject to the verb, prompting some translations to make it passive in view of the indefinite subject (so, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV). Such a passive could be taken as a so-called “divine passive” by which God is the implied agent. Job clearly means God here, but he stops short of naming him (see also the note on “God” earlier in this verse).

[3:20]  ⁴ sn In v. 10 the word was used to describe the labor and sorrow that comes from it; here the one in such misery is called the עָמֵל (’amel, “laborer, sufferer”).

[3:20]  ⁵ tn The second colon now refers to people in general because of the plural construct מָרֵי נָפֶשׁ (mare nafesh, “those bitter of soul/life”). One may recall the use of מָרָה (marah, “bitter”) by Naomi to describe her pained experience as a poor widow in Ruth 1:20, or the use of the word to describe the bitter oppression inflicted on Israel by the Egyptians (Exod 1:14). Those who are “bitter of soul” are those whose life is overwhelmed with painful experiences and suffering.

[7:1]  ⁶ tn The word צָבָא (tsava’) is actually “army”; it can be used for the hard service of military service as well as other toil. As a military term it would include the fixed period of duty (the time) and the hard work (toil). Job here is considering the lot of all humans, not just himself.

[7:1]  ⁷ tn The שָׂכִיר (sakhir) is a hired man, either a man who works for wages, or a mercenary soldier (Jer 46:21). The latter sense may be what is intended here in view of the parallelism, although the next verse seems much broader.

[16:6]  ¹¹ tn “But” is supplied in the translation to strengthen the contrast.

[16:6]  ¹² tn The Niphal יֵחָשֵׂךְ (yekhasekh) means “to be soothed; to be assuaged.”

[16:6]  ¹³ tn Some argue that מָה (mah) in the text is the Arabic ma, the simple negative. This would then mean “it does not depart far from me.” The interrogative used rhetorically amounts to the same thing, however, so the suggestion is not necessary.

[16:21]  ¹⁶ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 240) alters this slightly to read “Would that” or “Ah! if only.”

[16:21]  ¹⁷ tn This is the simple translation of the expression “son of man” in Job. But some commentators wish to change the word בֵּן (ben, “son”) to בֵּין (ben, “between”). It would then be “[as] between a man and [for] his friend.” Even though a few mss have this reading, it is to be rejected. But see J. Barr, “Some Notes on ‘ben’ in Classical Hebrew,” JSS 23 (1978): 1-22.

[16:21]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is supplied from the parallel clause.

[18:21]  ²¹ tn The term is in the plural, “the tabernacles”; it should be taken as a plural of local extension (see GKC 397 §124.b).

[18:21]  ²² tn The word “place” is in construct; the clause following it replaces the genitive: “this is the place of – he has not known God.”

[20:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “belly,” which represents his cravings, his desires and appetites. The “satisfaction” is actually the word for “quiet; peace; calmness; ease.” He was driven by greedy desires, or he felt and displayed an insatiable greed.

[20:20]  ²⁷ tn The verb is the passive participle of the verb חָמַד (khamad) which is one of the words for “covet; desire.” This person is controlled by his desires; there is no escape. He is a slave.

[20:20]  ²⁸ tn The verb is difficult to translate in this line. It basically means “to cause to escape; to rescue.” Some translate this verb as “it is impossible to escape”; this may work, but is uncertain. Others translate the verb in the sense of saving something else: N. Sarna says, “Of his most cherished possessions he shall save nothing” (“The Interchange of the Preposition bet and min in Biblical Hebrew,” JBL 78 [1959]: 315-16). The RSV has “he will save nothing in which he delights”; NIV has “he cannot save himself by his treasure.”

[21:9]  ³¹ tn The word שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace, safety”) is here a substantive after a plural subject (see GKC 452 §141.c, n. 3).

[21:9]  ³² tn The form מִפָּחַד (mippakhad) is translated “without fear,” literally “from fear”; the preposition is similar to the alpha privative in Greek. The word “fear, dread” means nothing that causes fear or dread – they are peaceful, secure. See GKC 382 §119.w.

[21:9]  ³³ tn Heb “no rod of God.” The words “punishment from” have been supplied in the translation to make the metaphor understandable for the modern reader by stating the purpose of the rod.

[21:9]  ³⁴ sn In 9:34 Job was complaining that there was no umpire to remove God’s rod from him, but here he observes no such rod is on the wicked.

[24:1]  ³⁶ tn The preposition מִן (min) is used to express the cause (see GKC 389 §121.f).

[24:1]  ³⁷ tc The LXX reads “Why are times hidden from the Almighty?” as if to say that God is not interested in the events on the earth. The MT reading is saying that God fails to set the times for judgment and vindication and makes good sense as it stands.

[27:19]  ⁴¹ tc The verb is the Niphal יֵאָסֵף (ye’asef), from אָסַף (’asaf, “to gather”). So, “he lies down rich, but he is not gathered.” This does not make much sense. It would mean “he will not be gathered for burial,” but that does not belong here. Many commentators accept the variant יֹאסִף (yo’sif) stood for יוֹסִיף (yosif, “will [not] add”). This is what the LXX and the Syriac have. This leads to the interpretive translation that “he will do so no longer.”

[27:19]  ⁴² tn Heb “and he is not.” One view is that this must mean that he dies, not that his wealth is gone. R. Gordis (Job, 295) says the first part should be made impersonal: “when one opens one’s eyes, the wicked is no longer there.” E. Dhorme (Job, 396) has it more simply: “He has opened his eyes, and it is for the last time.” But the other view is that the wealth goes overnight. In support of this is the introduction into the verse of the wealthy. The RSV, NRSV, ESV, and NLT take it that “wealth is gone.”

[36:18]  ⁴⁶ tn The first expression is idiomatic: the text says, “because wrath lest it entice you” – thus, beware.

[36:18]  ⁴⁷ tn The word is כֹּפֶר (kofer), often translated “ransom,” but frequently in the sense of a bribe.

[39:24]  ⁵¹ tn “Swallow the ground” is a metaphor for the horse’s running. Gray renders the line: “quivering and excited he dashes into the fray.”

[39:24]  ⁵² tn The use of אָמַן (’aman) in the Hiphil in this place is unique. Such a form would normally mean “to believe.” But its basic etymological meaning comes through here. The verb means “to be firm; to be reliable; to be dependable.” The causative here would mean “to make firm” or “to stand firm.”

[39:26]  ⁵⁶ tn This word occurs only here. It is connected to “pinions” in v. 13. Dhorme suggests “clad with feathers,” but the line suggests more the use of the wings.