Job 33:8-12

Elihu Rejects Job’s Plea of Innocence

33:8 “Indeed, you have said in my hearing ¹ 

(I heard the sound of the words!):

33:9 ² ‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am clean ³  and have no iniquity.

33:10 ⁴ Yet God ⁵  finds occasions ⁶  with me;

he regards me as his enemy!

33:11 ⁷ He puts my feet in shackles;

he watches closely all my paths.’

33:12 Now in this, you are not right – I answer you, ⁸ 

for God is greater than a human being. ⁹ 

Job 34:5-9

34:5 For Job says, ‘I am innocent, ¹⁰ 

but God turns away my right.

34:6 Concerning my right, should I lie? ¹¹ 

My wound ¹²  is incurable,

although I am without transgression.’ ¹³ 

34:7 What man is like Job,

who ¹⁴  drinks derision ¹⁵  like water!

34:8 He goes about ¹⁶  in company ¹⁷  with evildoers,

he goes along ¹⁸  with wicked men. ¹⁹ 

34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man

when he makes his delight with God.’ ²⁰ 

Job 35:2-3

35:2 “Do you think this to be ²¹  just:

when ²²  you say, ‘My right before God.’ ²³ 

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ ²⁴ 

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ ²⁵ 

Job 40:8

40:8 Would you indeed annul ²⁶  my justice?

Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?

Job 42:3

42:3 you asked, ²⁷ 

‘Who is this who darkens counsel

without knowledge?’

But ²⁸  I have declared without understanding ²⁹ 

things too wonderful for me to know. ³⁰ 

[33:8]  ¹ tn Heb “in my ears.”

[33:9]  ² sn See Job 9:21; 10:7; 23:7; 27:4; ch. 31.

[33:9]  ³ tn The word is a hapax legomenon; hap is from חָפַף (khafaf). It is used in New Hebrew in expressions like “to wash” the head. Cognates in Syriac and Akkadian support the meaning “to wash; to clean.”

[33:10]  ⁴ sn See Job 10:13ff.; 19:6ff.; and 13:24.

[33:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:10]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew means “frustrations” or “oppositions.” The RSV has “displeasure,” NIV “faults,” and NRSV “occasions.” Rashi chose the word found in Judg 14:4 – with metathesis – meaning “pretexts” (תֹּאֲנוֹת, to’anot); this is followed by NAB, NASB.

[33:11]  ⁷ sn See Job 13:27.

[33:12]  ⁸ tn The meaning of this verb is “this is my answer to you.”

[33:12]  ⁹ tc The LXX has “he that is above men is eternal.” Elihu is saying that God is far above Job’s petty problems.

[34:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “righteous,” but in this context it means to be innocent or in the right.

[34:6]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the Piel imperfect of כָּזַב (kazav), meaning “to lie.” It could be a question: “Should I lie [against my right?] – when I am innocent. If it is repointed to the Pual, then it can be “I am made to lie,” or “I am deceived.” Taking it as a question makes good sense here, and so emendations are unnecessary.

[34:6]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text has only “my arrow.” Some commentators emend that word slightly to get “my wound.” But the idea could be derived from “arrows” as well, the wounds caused by the arrows. The arrows are symbolic of God’s affliction.

[34:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “without transgression”; but this is parallel to the first part where the claim is innocence.

[34:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he drinks,” but coming after the question this clause may be subordinated.

[34:7]  ¹⁵ tn The scorn or derision mentioned here is not against Job, but against God. Job scorns God so much, he must love it. So to reflect this idea, Gordis has translated it “blasphemy” (cf. NAB).

[34:8]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect verb with the vav (ו) consecutive carries the sequence forward from the last description.

[34:8]  ¹⁷ tn The word חֶבְרַה (khevrah, “company”) is a hapax legomenon. But its meaning is clear enough from the connections to related words and this context as well.

[34:8]  ¹⁸ tn The infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition may continue the clause with the finite verb (see GKC 351 §114.p).

[34:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “men of wickedness”; the genitive is attributive (= “wicked men”).

[34:9]  ²⁰ tn Gordis, however, takes this expression in the sense of “being in favor with God.”

[35:2]  ²¹ tn The line could be read as “do you reckon this for justice? Here “to be” is understood.

[35:2]  ²² tn The word “when” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[35:2]  ²³ tn The brief line could be interpreted in a number of ways. The MT simply has “my right from God.” It could be “I am right before God,” “I am more just/right than God” (identifying the preposition as a comparative min (מִן); cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 463), “I will be right before God,” or “My just cause against God.”

[35:3]  ²⁴ tn The referent of “you” is usually understood to be God.

[35:3]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew text merely says, “What do I gain from my sin?” But Job has claimed that he has not sinned, and so this has to be elliptical: “more than if I had sinned” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 224). It could also be, “What do I gain without sin?”

[40:8]  ²⁶ tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to annul; to break; to frustrate.” It was one thing for Job to claim his own integrity, but it was another matter altogether to nullify God’s righteousness in the process.

[42:3]  ²⁷ tn The expression “you asked” is added here to clarify the presence of the line to follow. Many commentators delete it as a gloss from Job 38:2. If it is retained, then Job has to be recalling God’s question before he answers it.

[42:3]  ²⁸ tn The word לָכֵן (lakhen) is simply “but,” as in Job 31:37.

[42:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and I do not understand.” The expression serves here in an adverbial capacity. It also could be subordinated as a complement: “I have declared [things that] I do not understand.”

[42:3]  ³⁰ tn The last clause is “and I do not know.” This is also subordinated to become a dependent clause.