Job 33:17-26

33:17 to turn a person from his sin, ¹ 

and to cover a person’s pride. ² 

33:18 He spares a person’s life from corruption, ³ 

his very life from crossing over ⁴  the river.

33:19 Or a person is chastened ⁵  by pain on his bed,

and with the continual strife of his bones, ⁶ 

33:20 so that his life loathes food,

and his soul rejects appetizing fare. ⁷ 

33:21 His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his bones, which were not seen,

are easily visible. ⁸ 

33:22 He ⁹  draws near to the place of corruption,

and his life to the messengers of death. ¹⁰ 

33:23 If there is an angel beside him,

one mediator ¹¹  out of a thousand,

to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness; ¹² 

33:24 and if ¹³  God ¹⁴  is gracious to him and says,

‘Spare ¹⁵  him from going down

to the place of corruption,

I have found a ransom for him,’ ¹⁶ 

33:25 then his flesh is restored ¹⁷  like a youth’s;

he returns to the days of his youthful vigor. ¹⁸ 

33:26 He entreats God, and God ¹⁹  delights in him,

he sees God’s face ²⁰  with rejoicing,

and God ²¹  restores to him his righteousness. ²² 

Psalms 32:1-5

Psalm 32 ²³ 

By David; a well-written song. ²⁴ 

32:1 How blessed ²⁵  is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, ²⁶ 

whose sin is pardoned! ²⁷ 

32:2 How blessed is the one ²⁸  whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, ²⁹ 

in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³⁰ 

32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, ³¹ 

my whole body wasted away, ³² 

while I groaned in pain all day long.

32:4 For day and night you tormented me; ³³ 

you tried to destroy me ³⁴  in the intense heat ³⁵  of summer. ³⁶  (Selah)

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, “I will confess ³⁷  my rebellious acts to the Lord.”

And then you forgave my sins. ³⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 90:7-9

90:7 Yes, ³⁹  we are consumed by your anger;

we are terrified by your wrath.

90:8 You are aware of our sins; ⁴⁰ 

you even know about our hidden sins. ⁴¹ 

90:9 Yes, ⁴²  throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; ⁴³ 

the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. ⁴⁴ 

Psalms 103:3

103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,

who heals all your diseases, ⁴⁵ 

Isaiah 38:17

38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. ⁴⁶ 

You delivered me ⁴⁷  from the pit of oblivion. ⁴⁸ 

For you removed all my sins from your sight. ⁴⁹ 

John 5:14

5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, ⁵⁰  lest anything worse happen to you.”

John 5:1

Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

5:1 After this ⁵¹  there was a Jewish feast, ⁵²  and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ⁵³ 

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

James 5:15

5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ⁵⁵ 

[33:17]  ¹ tc The MT simply has מַעֲשֶׂה (ma’aseh, “deed”). The LXX has “from his iniquity” which would have been מֵעַוְלָה (me’avlah). The two letters may have dropped out by haplography. The MT is workable, but would have to mean “[evil] deeds.”

[33:17]  ² tc Here too the sense of the MT is difficult to recover. Some translations took it to mean that God hides pride from man. Many commentators changed יְכַסֶּה (yÿkhasseh, “covers”) to יְכַסֵּחַ (yÿkhasseakh, “he cuts away”), or יְכַלֶּה (yÿkhalleh, “he puts an end to”). The various emendations are not all that convincing.

[33:18]  ³ tn A number of interpreters and translations take this as “the pit” (see Job 17:14; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[33:18]  ⁴ tc Here is another difficult line. The verb normally means “to pass through; to pass over,” and so this word would normally mean “from passing through [or over].” The word שֶׁלַח (shelakh) does at times refer to a weapon, but most commentators look for a parallel with “the pit [or corruption].” One suggestion is שְׁאוֹלָה (shÿ’olah, “to Sheol”), proposed by Duhm. Dhorme thought it was שַׁלַח (shalakh) and referred to the passageway to the underworld (see M. Tsevat, VT 4 [1954]: 43; and Svi Rin, BZ 7 [1963]: 25). See discussion of options in HALOT 1517-18 s.v. IV שֶׁלַח. The idea of crossing the river of death fits the idea of the passage well, although the reading “to perish by the sword” makes sense and was followed by the NIV.

[33:19]  ⁵ tc The MT has the passive form, and so a subject has to be added: “[a man] is chastened.” The LXX has the active form, indicating “[God] chastens,” but the object “a man” has to be added. It is understandable why the LXX thought this was active, within this sequence of verbs; and that is why it is the inferior reading.

[33:19]  ⁶ tc The Kethib “the strife of his bones is continual,” whereas the Qere has “the multitude of his bones are firm.” The former is the better reading in this passage. It indicates that the pain is caused by the ongoing strife.

[33:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “food of desire.” The word “rejects” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[33:21]  ⁸ tc Heb “are laid bare.” This is the Qere reading; the Kethib means “bare height.” Gordis reverses the word order: “his bones are bare [i.e., crushed] so that they cannot be looked upon.” But the sense of that is not clear.

[33:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “his soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, “life”] draws near.”

[33:22]  ¹⁰ tn The MT uses the Hiphil participle, “to those who cause death.” This seems to be a reference to the belief in demons that brought about death, an idea not mentioned in the Bible itself. Thus many proposals have been made for this expression. Hoffmann and Budde divide the word into לְמוֹ מֵתִּים (lÿmo metim) and simply read “to the dead.” Dhorme adds a couple of letters to get לִמְקוֹם מֵתִּים (limqom metim, “to the place [or abode] of the dead”).

[33:23]  ¹¹ sn The verse is describing the way God can preserve someone from dying by sending a messenger (translated here as “angel”), who could be human or angelic. This messenger will interpret/mediate God’s will. By “one … out of a thousand” Elihu could have meant either that one of the thousands of messengers at God’s disposal might be sent or that the messenger would be unique (see Eccl 7:28; and cp. Job 9:3).

[33:23]  ¹² tn This is a smoother reading. The MT has “to tell to a man his uprightness,” to reveal what is right for him. The LXX translated this word “duty”; the choice is adopted by some commentaries. However, that is too far from the text, which indicates that the angel/messenger is to call the person to uprightness.

[33:24]  ¹³ tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.

[33:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:24]  ¹⁵ tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).

[33:24]  ¹⁶ sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.

[33:25]  ¹⁷ tc The word רֻטֲפַשׁ (rutafash) is found nowhere else. One suggestion is that it should be יִרְטַב (yirtav, “to become fresh”), connected to רָטַב (ratav, “to be well watered [or moist]”). It is also possible that it was a combination of רָטַב (ratav, “to be well watered”) and טָפַשׁ (tafash, “to grow fat”). But these are all guesses in the commentaries.

[33:25]  ¹⁸ tn The word describes the period when the man is healthy and vigorous, ripe for what life brings his way.

[33:26]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his face”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ²² tc Many commentators think this line is superfluous and so delete it. The RSV changed the verb to “he recounts,” making the idea that the man publishes the news of his victory or salvation (taking “righteousness” as a metonymy of cause).

[32:1]  ²³ sn Psalm 32. The psalmist recalls the agony he experienced prior to confessing his sins and affirms that true happiness comes when one’s sins are forgiven. He then urges others not to be stubborn, but to turn to God while forgiveness is available, for God extends his mercy to the repentant, while the wicked experience nothing but sorrow.

[32:1]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[32:1]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15). Here it refers to the relief that one experiences when one’s sins are forgiven.

[32:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “lifted up.”

[32:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “covered over.”

[32:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”

[32:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord does not impute wrongdoing.”

[32:2]  ³⁰ sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.

[32:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “when I was silent.”

[32:3]  ³² tn Heb “my bones became brittle.” The psalmist pictures himself as aging and growing physically weak. Trying to cover up his sin brought severe physical consequences.

[32:4]  ³³ tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”

[32:4]  ³⁴ tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.

[32:4]  ³⁵ tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”

[32:4]  ³⁶ sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.

[32:5]  ³⁷ tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”

[32:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.

[90:7]  ³⁹ tn Or “for.”

[90:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “you set our sins in front of you.”

[90:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “what we have hidden to the light of your face.” God’s face is compared to a light or lamp that exposes the darkness around it.

[90:9]  ⁴² tn Or “for.”

[90:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “all our days pass by in your anger.”

[90:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “we finish our years like a sigh.” In Ezek 2:10 the word הֶגֶה (hegeh) elsewhere refers to a grumbling or moaning sound. Here a brief sigh or moan is probably in view. If so, the simile pictures one’s lifetime as transient. Another option is that the simile alludes to the weakness that characteristically overtakes a person at the end of one’s lifetime. In this case the phrase could be translated, “we end our lives with a painful moan.”

[103:3]  ⁴⁵ tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).

[38:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Look, for peace bitterness was to me bitter”; NAB “thus is my bitterness transformed into peace.”

[38:17]  ⁴⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads, “you loved my soul,” but this does not fit syntactically with the following prepositional phrase. חָשַׁקְתָּ (khashaqta, “you loved”), may reflect an aural error; most emend the form to חָשַׂכְת, (khasakht, “you held back”).

[38:17]  ⁴⁸ tn בְּלִי (bÿli) most often appears as a negation, meaning “without,” suggesting the meaning “nothingness, oblivion,” here. Some translate “decay” or “destruction.”

[38:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”

[5:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.

[5:1]  ⁵¹ sn The temporal indicator After this is not specific, so it is uncertain how long after the incidents at Cana this occurred.

[5:1]  ⁵² tc The textual variants ἑορτή or ἡ ἑορτή (Jeorth or Jh Jeorth, “a feast” or “the feast”) may not appear significant at first, but to read ἑορτή with the article would almost certainly demand a reference to the Jewish Passover. The article is found in א C L Δ Ψ Ë¹ 33 892 1424 pm, but is lacking in {Ì^66,75 A B D T W^s Θ Ë¹³ 565 579 700 1241 pm}. Overall, the shorter reading has somewhat better support. Internally, the known proclivity of scribes to make the text more explicit argues compellingly for the shorter reading. Thus, the verse refers to a feast other than the Passover. The incidental note in 5:3, that the sick were lying outside in the porticoes of the pool, makes Passover an unlikely time because it fell toward the end of winter and the weather would not have been warm. L. Morris (John [NICNT], 299, n. 6) thinks it impossible to identify the feast with certainty.

[5:1]  ⁵³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[5:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”