Job 33:5

33:5 Reply to me, if you can;

set your arguments ¹  in order before me

and take your stand!

Job 38:14

38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; ² 

its features ³  are dyed ⁴  like a garment.

Job 2:1

Satan’s Additional Charge

2:1 Again the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also arrived among them to present himself before the Lord. ⁵ 

[33:5]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text does not contain the term “arguments,” but this verb has been used already for preparing or arranging a defense.

[38:14]  ² sn The verse needs to be understood in the context: as the light shines in the dawn, the features of the earth take on a recognizable shape or form. The language is phenomenological.

[38:14]  ³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the objects or features on the earth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:14]  ⁴ tc The MT reads “they stand up like a garment” (NASB, NIV) or “its features stand out like a garment” (ESV). The reference could be either to embroidered decoration on a garment or to the folds of a garment (REB: “until all things stand out like the folds of a cloak”; cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 497, “the early light of day makes the earth appear as a beautiful garment, exquisite in design and glorious in color”). Since this is thought to be an odd statement, some suggest with Ehrlich that the text be changed to תִּצָּבַּע (titsabba’, “is dyed [like a garment]”). This reference would be to the colors appearing on the earth’s surface under daylight. The present translation follows the emendation.

[2:1]  ³ tc This last purpose clause has been omitted in some Greek versions.