Discovery BoxJob 30:23
Context30:23 I know that you are bringing 1 me to death,
to the meeting place for all the living.
Job 30:1
Context30:1 “But now they mock me, those who are younger 2 than I,
whose fathers I disdained too much 3
to put with my sheep dogs. 4
Job 2:10
Context2:10 But he replied, 5 “You’re talking like one of the godless 6 women would do! Should we receive 7 what is good from God, and not also 8 receive 9 what is evil?” 10 In all this Job did not sin by what he said. 11
Job 11:1
Context11:1 Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:
Psalms 49:6-10
Context49:6 They trust 13 in their wealth
and boast 14 in their great riches.
49:7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; 15
he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price 16
49:8 (the ransom price for a human life 17 is too high,
and people go to their final destiny), 18
49:9 so that he might continue to live 19 forever
and not experience death. 20
49:10 Surely 21 one sees 22 that even wise people die; 23
fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away 24
and leave their wealth to others. 25
Psalms 49:14
Context49:14 They will travel to Sheol like sheep, 26
with death as their shepherd. 27
The godly will rule 28 over them when the day of vindication dawns; 29
Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses. 30
Psalms 89:48
Context89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,
or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. 31 (Selah)
Ecclesiastes 8:8
Context8:8 Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it, 32
so no one has power over the day of his 33 death.
Just as no one can be discharged during the battle, 34
so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked. 35
Isaiah 14:10-16
Context14:10 All of them respond to you, saying:
‘You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
14:11 Your splendor 36 has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. 37
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you. 38
14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn! 39
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror 40 of the nations! 41
14:13 You said to yourself, 42
“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El 43
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon. 44
14:14 I will climb up to the tops 45 of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!” 46
14:15 But you were brought down 47 to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the pit. 48
14:16 Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking: 49
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
Ezekiel 27:18-32
Context27:18 Damascus was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods and of all your wealth: wine from Helbon, white wool from Zahar, 27:19 and casks of wine 50 from Izal 51 they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise. 27:20 Dedan was your client in saddlecloths for riding. 27:21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your trade partners; for lambs, rams, and goats they traded with you. 27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products. 27:23 Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients. 27:24 They traded with you choice garments, purple clothes and embroidered work, and multicolored carpets, bound and reinforced with cords; these were among your merchandise. 27:25 The ships of Tarshish 52 were the transports for your merchandise.
“‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.
27:26 Your rowers have brought you into surging waters.
The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.
27:27 Your wealth, products, and merchandise, your sailors and captains,
your ship’s carpenters, 53 your merchants,
and all your fighting men within you,
along with all your crew who are in you,
will fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.
27:28 At the sound of your captains’ cry the waves will surge; 54
27:29 They will descend from their ships – all who handle the oar,
the sailors and all the sea captains – they will stand on the land.
27:30 They will lament loudly 55 over you and cry bitterly.
They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes; 56
27:31 they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth,
and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning. 57
27:32 As they wail they will lament over you, chanting:
“Who was like Tyre, like a tower 58 in the midst of the sea?”
[30:23] 1 tn The imperfect verb would be a progressive imperfect, it is future, but it is also already underway.
[30:1] 2 tn Heb “smaller than I for days.”
[30:1] 3 tn Heb “who I disdained their fathers to set…,” meaning “whose fathers I disdained to set.” The relative clause modifies the young fellows who mock; it explains that Job did not think highly enough of them to put them with the dogs. The next verse will explain why.
[30:1] 4 sn Job is mocked by young fellows who come from low extraction. They mocked their elders and their betters. The scorn is strong here – dogs were despised as scavengers.
[2:10] 5 tn Heb “he said to her.”
[2:10] 6 tn The word “foolish” (נָבָל, naval) has to do with godlessness more than silliness (Ps 14:1). To be foolish in this sense is to deny the nature and the work of God in life its proper place. See A. Phillips, “NEBALA – A Term for Serious Disorderly Unruly Conduct,” VT 25 (1975): 237-41; and W. M. W. Roth, “NBL,” VT 10 (1960): 394-409.
[2:10] 7 tn The verb קִבֵּל (qibbel) means “to accept, receive.” It is attested in the Amarna letters with the meaning “receive meekly, patiently.”
[2:10] 8 tn The adverb גָּם (gam, “also, even”) is placed here before the first clause, but belongs with the second. It intensifies the idea (see GKC 483 §153). See also C. J. Labuschagne, “The Emphasizing Particle GAM and Its Connotations,” Studia Biblica et Semitica, 193-203.
[2:10] 9 tn The two verbs in this sentence, Piel imperfects, are deliberative imperfects; they express the reasoning or deliberating in the interrogative sentences.
[2:10] 10 tn A question need not be introduced by an interrogative particle or adverb. The natural emphasis on the words is enough to indicate it is a question (GKC 473 §150.a).
[2:10] 11 tn Heb “sin with his lips,” an idiom meaning he did not sin by what he said.
[11:1] 12 sn Zophar begins with a strong rebuke of Job with a wish that God would speak (2-6); he then reflects for a few verses on the unsearchable wisdom of God (7-12); and finally, he advises Job that the way to restoration is repentance (13-20).
[49:6] 13 tn Heb “the ones who trust.” The substantival participle stands in apposition to “those who deceive me” (v. 5).
[49:6] 14 tn The imperfect verbal form emphasizes their characteristic behavior.
[49:7] 15 tn Heb “a brother, he surely does not ransom, a man.” The sequence אִישׁ...אָח (’akh...’ish, “a brother…a man”) is problematic, for the usual combination is אָח...אָח (“a brother…a brother”) or אִישׁ...אִישׁ (“a man…a man”). When אִישׁ and אָח are combined, the usual order is אָח...אִישׁ (“a man…a brother”), with “brother” having a third masculine singular suffix, “his brother.” This suggests that “brother” is the object of the verb and “man” the subject. (1) Perhaps the altered word order and absence of the suffix can be explained by the text’s poetic character, for ellipsis is a feature of Hebrew poetic style. (2) Another option, supported by a few medieval Hebrew
[49:7] 16 tn Heb “he cannot pay to God his ransom price.” Num 35:31 may supply the legal background for the metaphorical language used here. The psalmist pictures God as having a claim on the soul of the individual. When God comes to claim the life that ultimately belongs to him, he demands a ransom price that is beyond the capability of anyone to pay. The psalmist’s point is that God has ultimate authority over life and death; all the money in the world cannot buy anyone a single day of life beyond what God has decreed.
[49:8] 17 tn Heb “their life.” Some emend the text to “his life,” understanding the antecedent of the pronoun as “brother” in v. 7. However, the man and brother of v. 7 are representative of the human race in general, perhaps explaining why a plural pronoun appears in v. 8. Of course, the plural pronoun could refer back to “the rich” mentioned in v. 6. Another option (the one assumed in the translation) is that the suffixed mem is enclitic. In this case the “ransom price for human life” is referred to an abstract, general way.
[49:8] 18 tn Heb “and one ceases forever.” The translation assumes an indefinite subject which in turn is representative of the entire human race (“one,” that refers to human beings without exception). The verb חָדַל (khadal, “cease”) is understood in the sense of “come to an end; fail” (i.e., die). Another option is to translate, “and one ceases/refrains forever.” In this case the idea is that the living, convinced of the reality of human mortality, give up all hope of “buying off” God and refrain from trying to do so.
[49:9] 19 tn The jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is taken as indicating purpose/result in relation to the statement made in v. 8. (On this use of the jussive after an imperfect, see GKC 322 §109.f.) In this case v. 8 is understood as a parenthetical comment.
[49:9] 20 tn Heb “see the Pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 55:24; 103:4).
[49:10] 21 tn The particle כִּי (ki) is understood here as asseverative (emphatic).
[49:10] 22 tn The subject of the verb is probably the typical “man” mentioned in v. 7. The imperfect can be taken here as generalizing or as indicating potential (“surely he/one can see”).
[49:10] 23 tn The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to what is characteristically true. The vav (ו) consecutive with perfect in the third line carries the same force.
[49:10] 24 tn Heb “together a fool and a brutish [man] perish.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 73:22; 92:6; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).
[49:10] 25 sn Death shows no respect for anyone. No matter how wise or foolish an individual happens to be, all pass away.
[49:14] 26 tn Heb “like sheep to Sheol they are appointed.” The verb form שַׁתּוּ (shatu) is apparently derived from שָׁתַת (shatat), which appears to be a variant of the more common שִׁית (shiyt, “to place; to set”; BDB 1060 s.v. שָׁתַת and GKC 183 §67.ee). Some scholars emend the text to שָׁחוּ (shakhu; from the verbal root שׁוּח [shukh, “sink down”]) and read “they descend.” The present translation assumes an emendation to שָׁטוּ (shatu; from the verbal root שׁוּט [shut, “go; wander”]), “they travel, wander.” (The letter tet [ט] and tav [ת] sound similar; a scribe transcribing from dictation could easily confuse them.) The perfect verbal form is used in a rhetorical manner to speak of their destiny as if it were already realized (the so-called perfect of certitude or prophetic perfect).
[49:14] 27 tn Heb “death will shepherd them,” that is, death itself (personified here as a shepherd) will lead them like a flock of helpless, unsuspecting sheep to Sheol, the underworld, the land of the dead.
[49:14] 28 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the perfect verbal form in v. 14a. The psalmist speaks of this coming event as if it were already accomplished.
[49:14] 29 tn Heb “will rule over them in the morning.” “Morning” here is a metaphor for a time of deliverance and vindication after the dark “night” of trouble (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 59:16; 90:14; 143:8; Isa 17:14). In this context the psalmist confidently anticipates a day of vindication when the
[49:14] 30 tn Heb “their form [will become an object] for the consuming of Sheol, from a lofty residence, to him.” The meaning of this syntactically difficult text is uncertain. The translation assumes that צוּר (tsur, “form”; this is the Qere [marginal] reading; the Kethib has צִירָם [tsiram, “their image”]) refers to their physical form or bodies. “Sheol” is taken as the subject of “consume” (on the implied “become” before the infinitive “to consume” see GKC 349 §114.k). The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “lofty residence” is understood as privative, “away from; so as not.” The preposition -ל (lamed) is possessive, while the third person pronominal suffix is understood as a representative singular.
[89:48] 31 tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
[8:8] 32 tn Heb “There is not a man who has mastery over the wind to restrain the wind.”
[8:8] 33 tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:8] 34 tn Heb “There is no discharge in war.”
[14:11] 36 tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”
[14:11] 37 tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[14:11] 38 tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”
[14:12] 39 tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.
[14:12] 40 tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”
[14:12] 41 sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.
[14:13] 42 tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”
[14:13] 43 sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.
[14:13] 44 sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.
[14:14] 45 tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.
[14:14] 46 sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.
[14:15] 47 tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.
[14:15] 48 tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.
[14:16] 49 tn The word “thinking” is supplied in the translation in order to make it clear that the next line records their thoughts as they gaze at him.
[27:19] 50 tc The MT leaves v. 18 as an incomplete sentence and begins v. 19 with “and Dan and Javan (Ionia) from Uzal.” The LXX mentions “wine.” The translation follows an emendation assuming some confusions of vav and yod. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:82.
[27:19] 51 sn According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:82), Izal was located between Haran and the Tigris and was famous for its wine.
[27:25] 52 tn Or perhaps “Large merchant ships.” The expression “ships of Tarshish” may describe a class of vessel, that is, large oceangoing merchant ships.
[27:27] 53 tn Heb “your repairers of damage.” See v. 9.
[27:28] 54 tn Compare this phrase to Isa 57:20 and Amos 8:8. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:561.
[27:30] 55 tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”
[27:30] 56 tn Note a similar expression to “roll in the ashes” in Mic 1:10.
[27:31] 57 tn Heb “and they will weep concerning you with bitterness of soul, (with) bitter mourning.”
[27:32] 58 tn As it stands, the meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. The translation follows the suggestion of M. Dahood, “Accadian-Ugaritic dmt in Ezekiel 27:32,” Bib 45 (1964): 83-84. Several other explanations and emendations have been offered. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:83, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:85-86, for a list of options.
