Job 35:11

35:11 who teaches us ¹  more than ²  the wild animals of the earth,

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

Jeremiah 4:22

4:22 The Lord answered, ³ 

“This will happen ⁴  because my people are foolish.

They do not know me.

They are like children who have no sense. ⁵ 

They have no understanding.

They are skilled at doing evil.

They do not know how to do good.”

Jeremiah 8:6-7

8:6 I have listened to them very carefully, ⁶ 

but they do not speak honestly.

None of them regrets the evil he has done.

None of them says, “I have done wrong!” ⁷ 

All of them persist in their own wayward course ⁸ 

like a horse charging recklessly into battle.

8:7 Even the stork knows

when it is time to move on. ⁹ 

The turtledove, swallow, and crane ¹⁰ 

recognize ¹¹  the normal times for their migration.

But my people pay no attention

to ¹²  what I, the Lord, require of them. ¹³ 

[35:11]  ¹ tn The form in the text, the Piel participle from אָלַף (’alaf, “teach”) is written in a contracted form; the full form is מְאַלְּפֵנוּ (mÿ’allÿfenu).

[35:11]  ² tn Some would render this “teaches us by the beasts.” But Elihu is stressing the unique privilege humans have.

[4:22]  ³ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the Lord answers, giving the reason for the devastation Jeremiah foresees.

[4:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.

[4:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “They are senseless children.”

[8:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “I have paid attention and I have listened.” This is another case of two concepts being joined by “and” where one expresses the main idea and the other acts as an adverbial or adjectival modifier (a figure called hendiadys).

[8:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “What have I done?” The addition of the word “wrong” is implicit in the context and is supplied in the translation for clarity. The rhetorical question does not function as a denial of wrongdoing, but rather as contrite shock at one’s own wrongdoing. It is translated as a declaration for the sake of clarity.

[8:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “each one of them turns aside into their own running course.”

[8:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.

[8:7]  ¹⁰ tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow” which is more likely the “swift” and the “crane” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than the “swift.”

[8:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.

[8:7]  ¹² tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.

[8:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the Lord.”