Job 31:39

31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, ¹ 

or caused the death ²  of its owners, ³ 

Job 37:13

37:13 Whether it is for punishment ⁴  for his land,

or whether it is for mercy,

he causes it to find its mark. ⁵ 

Job 38:26

38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, ⁶ 

a desert where there are no human beings, ⁷ 

[31:39]  ¹ tn Heb “without silver.”

[31:39]  ² tc The versions have the verb “grieved” here. The Hebrew verb means “to breathe,” but the form is Hiphil. This verb in that stem could mean something of a contemptuous gesture, like “sniff” in Mal 1:13. But with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in Job 11:20 it means “to cause death,” i.e., “to cause to breathe out; to expire.” This is likely the meaning here, although it is possible that it only meant “to cause suffering” to the people.

[31:39]  ³ tn There is some debate over the meaning of בְּעָלֶיהָ (bÿ’aleyha), usually translated “its owners.” Dahood, following others (although without their emendations), thought it referred to “laborers” (see M. Dahood, Bib 41 [1960]: 303; idem, Bib 43 [1962]: 362).

[37:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “rod,” i.e., a rod used for punishment.

[37:13]  ⁵ tn This is interpretive; Heb “he makes find it.” The lightning could be what is intended here, for it finds its mark. But R. Gordis (Job, 429) suggests man is the subject – let him find what it is for, i.e., the fate appropriate for him.

[38:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “on a land, no man.”

[38:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “a desert, no man in it.”