Job 4:2

4:2 “If someone ¹  should attempt ²  a word with you,

will you be impatient? ³ 

But who can refrain from speaking ⁴ ?

Job 7:11

Job Remonstrates with God

7:11 “Therefore, ⁵  I will not refrain my mouth; ⁶ 

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain ⁷  in the bitterness of my soul.

Proverbs 10:19

10:19 When words abound, transgression is inevitable, ⁸ 

but the one who restrains ⁹  his words ¹⁰  is wise.

James 1:19

Living Out the Message

1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹¹  Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

[4:2]  ¹ tn The verb has no expressed subject, and so may be translated with “one” or “someone.”

[4:2]  ² tn The Piel perfect is difficult here. It would normally be translated “has one tried (words with you)?” Most commentaries posit a conditional clause, however.

[4:2]  ³ tn The verb means “to be weary.” But it can have the extended sense of being either exhausted or impatient (see v. 5). A. B. Davidson (Job, 29) takes it in the sense of “will it be too much for you?” There is nothing in the sentence that indicates this should be an interrogative clause; it is simply an imperfect. But in view of the juxtaposition of the first part, this seems to make good sense. E. Dhorme (Job, 42) has “Shall we address you? You are dejected.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn The construction uses a noun with the preposition: “and to refrain with words – who is able?” The Aramaic plural of “words” (מִלִּין, millin) occurs 13 times in Job, with the Hebrew plural ten times. The commentaries show that Eliphaz’s speech had a distinctly Aramaic coloring to it.

[7:11]  ⁵ tn “Also I” has been rendered frequently as “therefore,” introducing a conclusion. BDB 168-69 s.v. גַמּ lists Ps 52:7 [5] as a parallel, but it also could be explained as an adversative.

[7:11]  ⁶ sn “Mouth” here is metonymical for what he says – he will not withhold his complaints. Peake notes that in this section Job comes very close to doing what Satan said he would do. If he does not curse God to his face, he certainly does cast off restraints to his lament. But here Job excuses himself in advance of the lament.

[7:11]  ⁷ tn The verb is not limited to mental musing; it is used for pouring out a complaint or a lament (see S. Mowinckel, “The Verb si^ah and the Nouns si^ah, siha,” ST 15 [1961]: 1-10).

[10:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “does not cease.” It is impossible to avoid sinning in an abundance of words – sooner or later one is bound to say something wrong.

[10:19]  ⁹ tn Or “holds his lips under control.” The verb חָשַׂךְ (khasakh) means “to withhold; to restrain; to hold in check” (BDB 362 s.v.). The related Arabic term is used in reference to placing a piece of wood in the mouth of a goat to prevent it from sucking (HALOT 359 s.v. חשׂךְ).

[10:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his lips” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “his tongue.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for speech.

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.