Job 4:21

4:21 Is not their excess wealth ¹  taken away from them? ² 

They die, ³  yet without attaining wisdom. ⁴ 

Job 9:32

9:32 For he ⁵  is not a human being like I am,

that ⁶  I might answer him,

that we might come ⁷  together in judgment.

Job 20:24

20:24 If he flees from an iron weapon,

then an arrow ⁸  from a bronze bow pierces him.

Job 21:14

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to ⁹  know your ways. ¹⁰ 

Job 21:33

21:33 The clods of the torrent valley ¹¹  are sweet to him;

behind him everybody follows in procession,

and before him goes a countless throng.

Job 23:3

23:3 O that I knew ¹²  where I might find him, ¹³ 

that I could come ¹⁴  to his place of residence! ¹⁵ 

Job 27:19

27:19 He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. ¹⁶ 

When he opens his eyes, it is all gone. ¹⁷ 

Job 37:3

37:3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,

even his lightning to the far corners ¹⁸  of the earth.

[4:21]  ¹ tn The word יֶתֶר (yeter, here with the suffix, יִתְרָם [yitram]) can mean “what remains” or “rope.” Of the variety of translations, the most frequently used idea seems to be “their rope,” meaning their tent cord. This would indicate that their life was compared to a tent – perfectly reasonable in a passage that has already used the image “houses of clay.” The difficulty is that the verb נָסַע (nasa’) means more properly “to tear up; to uproot.” and not “to cut off.” A similar idea is found in Isa 38:12, but there the image is explicitly that of cutting the life off from the loom. Some have posited that the original must have said their tent peg was pulled up” as in Isa 33:20 (A. B. Davidson, Job, 34; cf. NAB). But perhaps the idea of “what remains” would be easier to defend here. Besides, it is used in 22:20. The wealth of an individual is what has been acquired and usually is left over when he dies. Here it would mean that the superfluous wealth would be snatched away. The preposition בּ (bet) would carry the meaning “from” with this verb.

[4:21]  ² tc The text of the LXX does not seem to be connected to the Hebrew of v. 21a. It reads something like “for he blows on them and they are withered” (see Isa 40:24b). The Targum to Job has “Is it not by their lack of righteousness that they have been deprived of all support?”

[4:21]  ³ sn They die. This clear verb interprets all the images in these verses – they die. When the house of clay collapses, or when their excess perishes – their life is over.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “and without wisdom.” The word “attaining” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[9:32]  ⁵ tn The personal pronoun that would be expected as the subject of a noun clause is sometimes omitted (see GKC 360 §116.s). Here it has been supplied.

[9:32]  ⁶ tn The consecutive clause is here attached without the use of the ו (vav), but only by simple juxtaposition (see GKC 504-5 §166.a).

[9:32]  ⁷ tn The sense of the verb “come” with “together in judgment” means “to confront one another in court.” See Ps 143:2.

[20:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “a bronze bow pierces him.” The words “an arrow from” are implied and are supplied in the translation; cf. “pulls it out” in the following verse.

[21:14]  ¹³ tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

[21:14]  ¹⁴ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[21:33]  ¹⁷ tn The clods are those that are used to make a mound over the body. And, for a burial in the valley, see Deut 34:6. The verse here sees him as participating in his funeral and enjoying it. Nothing seems to go wrong with the wicked.

[23:3]  ²¹ tn The optative here is again expressed with the verbal clause, “who will give [that] I knew….”

[23:3]  ²² tn The form in Hebrew is וְאֶמְצָאֵהוּ (vÿ’emtsa’ehu), simply “and I will find him.” But in the optative clause this verb is subordinated to the preceding verb: “O that I knew where [and] I might find him.” It is not unusual to have the perfect verb followed by the imperfect in such coordinate clauses (see GKC 386 §120.e). This could also be translated making the second verb a complementary infinitive: “knew how to find him.”

[23:3]  ²³ tn This verb also depends on מִי־יִתֵּן (mi-yitten, “who will give”) of the first part, forming an additional clause in the wish formula.

[23:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “his place of judgment.” The word is from כּוּן (kun, “to prepare; to arrange”) in the Polel and the Hiphil conjugations. The noun refers to a prepared place, a throne, a seat, or a sanctuary. A. B. Davidson (Job, 169) and others take the word to mean “judgment seat” or “tribunal” in this context.

[27:19]  ²⁵ tc The verb is the Niphal יֵאָסֵף (ye’asef), from אָסַף (’asaf, “to gather”). So, “he lies down rich, but he is not gathered.” This does not make much sense. It would mean “he will not be gathered for burial,” but that does not belong here. Many commentators accept the variant יֹאסִף (yo’sif) stood for יוֹסִיף (yosif, “will [not] add”). This is what the LXX and the Syriac have. This leads to the interpretive translation that “he will do so no longer.”

[27:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he is not.” One view is that this must mean that he dies, not that his wealth is gone. R. Gordis (Job, 295) says the first part should be made impersonal: “when one opens one’s eyes, the wicked is no longer there.” E. Dhorme (Job, 396) has it more simply: “He has opened his eyes, and it is for the last time.” But the other view is that the wealth goes overnight. In support of this is the introduction into the verse of the wealthy. The RSV, NRSV, ESV, and NLT take it that “wealth is gone.”

[37:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “wings,” and then figuratively for the extremities of garments, of land, etc.