Job 33:20

33:20 so that his life loathes food,

and his soul rejects appetizing fare. ¹ 

Job 33:22

33:22 He ²  draws near to the place of corruption,

and his life to the messengers of death. ³ 

Job 36:14

36:14 They die ⁴  in their youth,

and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes. ⁵ 

Job 37:8

37:8 The wild animals go to their lairs,

and in their dens they remain.

Job 38:39

38:39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,

and satisfy the appetite ⁶  of the lions,

[33:20]  ¹ tn Heb “food of desire.” The word “rejects” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[33:22]  ² tn Heb “his soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, “life”] draws near.”

[33:22]  ³ 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”).

[36:14]  ³ tn The text expresses this with “their soul dies.”

[36:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “among the male prostitutes” who were at the temple – the “holy ones,” with “holy” being used in that sense of “separated to that form of temple service.” So uncleanness and shame are some of the connotations of the reference. Some modern translations give the general sense only: “their life ends in shame” (NRSV); “and perish among the reprobate” (NAB); “die…after wasting their lives in immoral living” (NLT).

[38:39]  ⁴ tn Heb “fill up the life of.”