Job 37:20

37:20 Should he be informed that I want ¹  to speak?

If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!

Habakkuk 1:8-9

1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards

and more alert ²  than wolves in the desert. ³ 

Their horses ⁴  gallop, ⁵ 

their horses come a great distance;

like a vulture ⁶  they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. ⁷ 

1:9 All of them intend ⁸  to do violence;

every face is determined. ⁹ 

They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. ¹⁰ 

[37:20]  ¹ tn This imperfect works well as a desiderative imperfect.

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “sharper,” in the sense of “keener” or “more alert.” Some translate “quicker” on the basis of the parallelism with the first line (see HALOT 291 s.v. חדד).

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The present translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). On this phrase see also Zeph 3:3.

[1:8]  ⁴ tn Or “horsemen,” “cavalry.”

[1:8]  ⁵ tn The precise nuance of the rare verb פָּוַשׁ (parash) is unclear here. Elsewhere it is used of animals jumping or leaping (see Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2).

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Or “eagle” (so NASB, NRSV). The term can refer to either eagles or vultures, but in this context of gruesome destruction and death “vulture” is preferred.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “they fly like a vulture/an eagle quickly to devour.” The direct object “their prey” is not included in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “come.”

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “The totality of their faces is to the east” (or “is forward”). The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מְגַמַּת (megammat) is unclear. For a discussion of options see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 93. NEB has “a sea of faces rolls on”; NIV “their hordes advance like a desert wind”; NRSV “with faces pressing forward.”

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he gathers like sand, prisoners.”