Job 34:11

34:11 For he repays a person for his work, ¹ 

and according to the conduct of a person,

he causes the consequences to find him. ² 

Job 34:1

Elihu’s Second Speech ³ 

34:1 Elihu answered:

Job 26:1

Job’s Reply to Bildad ⁴ 

26:1 Then Job replied:

Psalms 18:20

18:20 The Lord repaid ⁵  me for my godly deeds; ⁶ 

he rewarded ⁷  my blameless behavior. ⁸ 

Psalms 62:12

62:12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. ⁹ 

For you repay men for what they do. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 24:12

24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”

does not the one who evaluates ¹¹  hearts consider?

Does not the one who guards your life know?

Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? ¹² 

Matthew 10:41-42

10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever ¹³  receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, ¹⁴  he will never lose his reward.”

Hebrews 11:26

11:26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ ¹⁵  to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on ¹⁶  the reward.

[34:11]  ¹ tn Heb “for the work of man, he [= God] repays him.”

[34:11]  ² tn Heb “he causes it to find him.” The text means that God will cause a man to find (or receive) the consequences of his actions.

[34:1]  ³ sn This speech of Elihu focuses on defending God. It can be divided into these sections: Job is irreligious (2-9), God is just (10-15), God is impartial and omniscient (16-30), Job is foolish to rebel (31-37).

[26:1]  ⁴ sn These two chapters will be taken together under this title, although most commentators would assign Job 26:5-14 to Bildad and Job 27:7-23 to Zophar. Those sections will be noted as they emerge. For the sake of outlining, the following sections will be marked off: Job’s scorn for Bildad (26:2-4); a better picture of God’s greatness (26:5-14); Job’s protestation of innocence (27:2-6); and a picture of the condition of the wicked (27:7-23).

[18:20]  ⁵ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

[18:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.

[18:20]  ⁷ tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.

[18:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.

[62:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and to you, O Master, [is] loyal love.”

[62:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for you pay back to a man according to his deed.” Another option is to understand vv. 11b and 12a as the first principle and v. 12b as the second. In this case one might translate, “God has declared one principle, two principles I have heard, namely, that God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love, and that you repay men for what they do.”

[24:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV) meaning “tests” or “evaluates.”

[24:12]  ¹² sn The verse completes the saying by affirming that people will be judged responsible for helping those in mortal danger. The verse uses a series of rhetorical questions to affirm that God knows our hearts and we cannot plead ignorance.

[10:41]  ¹³ tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:42]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[11:26]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the abuse [or ‘reproach’] of Christ.”

[11:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he was looking away to.”