Job 36:5

36:5 Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people, ¹ 

he ²  is mighty, and firm ³  in his intent. ⁴ 

Job 36:13

36:13 The godless at heart ⁵  nourish anger, ⁶ 

they do not cry out even when he binds them.

Job 37:24

37:24 Therefore people fear him,

for he does not regard all the wise in heart.” ⁷ 

Job 12:24

12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth ⁸ 

of their understanding; ⁹ 

he makes them wander

in a trackless desert waste. ¹⁰ 

[36:5]  ¹ tn The object “people” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

[36:5]  ² tn The text simply repeats “mighty.”

[36:5]  ³ tn The last two words are simply כֹּחַ לֵב (koakh lev, “strong in heart”), meaning something like “strong; firm in his decisions.”

[36:5]  ⁴ tc There are several problems in this verse: the repetition of “mighty,” the lack of an object for “despise,” and the meaning of “strength of heart.” Many commentators reduce the verse to a single line, reading something like “Lo, God does not reject the pure in heart” (Kissane). Dhorme and Pope follow Nichols with: “Lo, God is mighty in strength, and rejects not the pure in heart.” This reading moved “mighty” to the first line and took the second to be בַּר (bar, “pure”).

[36:13]  ⁵ tn The expression “godless [or hypocrite] in heart” is an intensification of the description. It conveys that they are intentionally godless. See Matt 23:28.

[36:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “they put anger.” This is usually interpreted to mean they lay up anger, or put anger in their hearts.

[37:24]  ⁹ sn The phrase “wise of heart” was used in Job 9:4 in a negative sense.

[12:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “the heads of the people of the earth.”

[12:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “heart.”

[12:24]  ¹⁵ tn The text has בְּתֹהוּ לֹא־דָרֶךְ (bÿtohu lo’ darekh): “in waste – no way,” or “in a wasteland [where there is] no way,” thus, “trackless” (see the discussion of negative attributes using לֹא [lo’] in GKC 482 §152.u).