Job 3:21

3:21 to ¹  those who wait ²  for death that ³  does not come,

and search for it ⁴ 

more than for hidden treasures,

Job 15:22

15:22 He does not expect ⁵  to escape from darkness; ⁶ 

he is marked for the sword; ⁷ 

Job 18:5

18:5 “Yes, ⁸  the lamp ⁹  of the wicked is extinguished;

his flame of fire ¹⁰  does not shine.

Job 24:19

24:19 The drought as well as the heat carry away

the melted snow; ¹¹ 

so the grave ¹²  takes away those who have sinned. ¹³ 

Job 27:6

27:6 I will maintain my righteousness

and never let it go;

my conscience ¹⁴  will not reproach me

for as long as I live. ¹⁵ 

Job 38:19

38:19 “In what direction ¹⁶  does light reside,

and darkness, where is its place,

[3:21]  ¹ tn The verse simply begins with the participle in apposition to the expressions in the previous verse describing those who are bitter. The preposition is added from the context.

[3:21]  ² tn The verb is the Piel participle of חָכָה (khakhah, “to wait for” someone; Yahweh is the object in Isa 8:17; 64:3; Ps 33:20). Here death is the supreme hope of the miserable and the suffering.

[3:21]  ³ tn The verse simply has the form אֵין (’en, “there is not”) with a pronominal suffix and a conjunction – “and there is not it” or “and it is not.” The LXX and the Vulgate add a verb to explain this form: “and obtain it not.”

[3:21]  ⁴ tn The parallel verb is now a preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive; it therefore has the nuance of a characteristic perfect or gnomic perfect – the English present tense.

[15:22]  ⁵ tn This is the meaning of the Hiphil imperfect negated: “he does not believe” or “he has no confidence.” It is followed by the infinitive construct functioning as the direct object – he does not expect to return (to escape) from darkness.

[15:22]  ⁶ sn In the context of these arguments, “darkness” probably refers to calamity, and so the wicked can expect a calamity that is final.

[15:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “he is watched [or waited for] by the sword.” G. R. Driver reads it, “he is marked down for the sword” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 78). Ewald suggested “laid up for the sword.” Ball has “looks for the sword.” The MT has a passive participle from צָפָה (tsafah, “to observe, watch”) which can be retained in the text; the meaning of the form can then be understood as the result of the inspection (E. Dhorme, Job, 217).

[18:5]  ⁹ tn Hebrew גַּם (gam, “also; moreover”), in view of what has just been said.

[18:5]  ¹⁰ sn The lamp or the light can have a number of uses in the Bible. Here it is probably an implied metaphor for prosperity and happiness, for the good life itself.

[18:5]  ¹¹ tn The expression is literally “the flame of his fire,” but the pronominal suffix qualifies the entire bound construction. The two words together intensify the idea of the flame.

[24:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “the waters of the snow.”

[24:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “so Sheol.”

[24:19]  ¹⁵ tn This is the meaning of the verse, which in Hebrew only has “The grave / they have sinned.”

[27:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my heart.”

[27:6]  ¹⁸ tn The prepositional phrase “from my days” probably means “from the days of my birth,” or “all my life.”

[38:19]  ²¹ tn The interrogative with דֶרֶךְ (derekh) means “in what road” or “in what direction.”