Job 34:2

34:2 “Listen to my words, you wise men;

hear ¹  me, you learned men. ² 

Job 34:4

34:4 Let us evaluate ³  for ourselves what is right; ⁴ 

let us come to know among ourselves what is good.

Job 34:10

God is Not Unjust

34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. ⁵ 

Far be it from ⁶  God to do wickedness,

from the Almighty to do evil.

Job 34:16

God Is Impartial and Omniscient

34:16 “If you have ⁷  understanding, listen to this,

hear what I have to say. ⁸ 

Job 34:1

Elihu’s Second Speech ⁹ 

34:1 Elihu answered:

Colossians 1:15

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ¹⁰ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ¹¹  over all creation, ¹² 

[34:2]  ¹ tn Heb “give ear to me.”

[34:2]  ² tn The Hebrew word means “the men who know,” and without a complement it means “to possess knowledge.”

[34:4]  ³ sn Elihu means “choose after careful examination.”

[34:4]  ⁴ tn The word is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) again, with the sense of what is right or just.

[34:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “men of heart.” The “heart” is used for the capacity to understand and make the proper choice. It is often translated “mind.”

[34:10]  ⁶ tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.

[34:16]  ⁷ tn The phrase “you have” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[34:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “the sound of my words.”

[34:1]  ⁹ 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).

[1:15]  ¹⁰ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ¹¹ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ¹² tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.