Job 36:5-10

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

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

36:6 He does not allow the wicked to live, ⁵ 

but he gives justice to the poor.

36:7 He does not take his eyes ⁶  off the righteous;

but with kings on the throne

he seats the righteous ⁷  and exalts them forever. ⁸ 

36:8 But if they are bound in chains, ⁹ 

and held captive by the cords of affliction,

36:9 then he reveals ¹⁰  to them what they have done, ¹¹ 

and their transgressions,

that they were behaving proudly.

36:10 And he reveals ¹²  this ¹³  for correction,

and says that they must turn ¹⁴  from evil.

[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”).

[36:6]  ⁵ tn Or “he does not keep the wicked alive.”

[36:7]  ⁶ tc Many commentators accept the change of “his eyes” to “his right” (reading דִּינוֹ [dino] for עֵינָיו [’enayv]). There is no compelling reason for the change; it makes the line commonplace.

[36:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the righteous) has been repeated from the first part of the verse for clarity.

[36:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “he seats them forever and exalts them.” The last verb can be understood as expressing a logical consequence of the preceding action (cf. GKC 328 §111.l = “he seats them forever so that he exalts them”). Or the two verbs can be taken as an adverbial hendiadys whereby the first modifies the second adverbially: “he exalts them by seating them forever” or “when he seats them forever” (cf. GKC 326 §111.d). Some interpret this verse to say that God seats kings on the throne, making a change in subject in the middle of the verse. But it makes better sense to see the righteous as the subject matter throughout – they are not only protected, but are exalted.

[36:8]  ⁹ tn Dhorme thinks that the verse is still talking about kings, who may be in captivity. But this diverts attention from Elihu’s emphasis on the righteous.

[36:9]  ¹⁰ tn The verb נָגַד (nagad) means “to declare; to tell.” Here it is clear that God is making known the sins that caused the enslavement or captivity, so “reveal” makes a good interpretive translation.

[36:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their work.”

[36:10]  ¹² tn The idiom once again is “he uncovers their ear.”

[36:10]  ¹³ tn The revelation is in the preceding verse, and so a pronoun must be added to make the reference clear.

[36:10]  ¹⁴ tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to turn; to return”) is one of the two major words in the OT for “repent” – to return from evil. Here the imperfect should be obligatory – they must do it.