Job 4:3

4:3 Look, ¹  you have instructed ²  many;

you have strengthened ³  feeble hands. ⁴ 

Job 11:13

11:13 “As for you, ⁵  if you prove faithful, ⁶ 

and if ⁷  you stretch out your hands toward him, ⁸ 

Job 27:23

27:23 It claps ⁹  its hands at him in derision

and hisses him away from his place. ¹⁰ 

Job 31:4

31:4 Does he not see my ways

and count all my steps?

Job 32:17

32:17 I too will answer my part,

I too will explain what I know.

Job 34:7

34:7 What man is like Job,

who ¹¹  drinks derision ¹²  like water!

Job 34:26

34:26 He strikes them for their wickedness, ¹³ 

in a place where people can see, ¹⁴ 

Job 36:24-25

36:24 Remember to extol ¹⁵  his work,

which people have praised in song.

36:25 All humanity has seen it;

people gaze on it from afar.

Job 36:31

36:31 It is by these that he judges ¹⁶  the nations

and supplies food in abundance.

Job 38:2

38:2 “Who is this ¹⁷  who darkens counsel ¹⁸ 

with words without knowledge?

[4:3]  ¹ tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) summons attention; it has the sense of “consider, look.”

[4:3]  ² tn The verb יָסַר (yasar) in the Piel means “to correct,” whether by words with the sense of teach, or by chastening with the sense of punish, discipline. The double meaning of “teach” and “discipline” is also found with the noun מוּסָר (musar).

[4:3]  ³ tn The parallelism again uses a perfect verb in the first colon and an imperfect in the second; but since the sense of the line is clearly what Job has done in the past, the second verb may be treated as a preterite, or a customary imperfect – what Job repeatedly did in the past (GKC 315 §107.e). The words in this verse may have double meanings. The word יָסַר (yasar, “teach, discipline”) may have the idea of instruction and correction, but also the connotation of strength (see Y. Hoffmann, “The Use of Equivocal Words in the First Speech of Eliphaz [Job IV–V],” VT 30 [1980]: 114-19).

[4:3]  ⁴ tn The “feeble hands” are literally “hands hanging down.” This is a sign of weakness, helplessness, or despondency (see 2 Sam 4:1; Isa 13:7).

[11:13]  ⁵ tn The pronoun is emphatic, designed to put Job in a different class than the hollow men – at least to raise the possibility of his being in a different class.

[11:13]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew uses the perfect of כּוּן (kun, “establish”) with the object “your heart.” The verb can be translated “prepare, fix, make firm” your heart. To fix the heart is to make it faithful and constant, the heart being the seat of the will and emotions. The use of the perfect here does not refer to the past, but should be given a future perfect sense – if you shall have fixed your heart, i.e., prove faithful. Job would have to make his heart secure, so that he was no longer driven about by differing views.

[11:13]  ⁷ tn This half-verse is part of the protasis and not, as in the RSV, the apodosis to the first half. The series of “if” clauses will continue through these verses until v. 15.

[11:13]  ⁸ sn This is the posture of prayer (see Isa 1:15). The expression means “spread out your palms,” probably meaning that the one praying would fall to his knees, put his forehead to the ground, and spread out his hands in front of him on the ground.

[27:23]  ⁹ tn If the same subject is to be carried through here, it is the wind. That would make this a bold personification, perhaps suggesting the force of the wind. Others argue that it is unlikely that the wind claps its hands. They suggest taking the verb with an indefinite subject: “he claps” means “one claps. The idea is that of people rejoicing when the wicked are gone. But the parallelism is against this unless the second line is changed as well. R. Gordis (Job, 296) has “men will clap their hands…men will whistle upon him.”

[27:23]  ¹⁰ tn Or “hisses at him from its place” (ESV).

[34:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “he drinks,” but coming after the question this clause may be subordinated.

[34:7]  ¹⁴ tn The scorn or derision mentioned here is not against Job, but against God. Job scorns God so much, he must love it. So to reflect this idea, Gordis has translated it “blasphemy” (cf. NAB).

[34:26]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “under wicked men,” or “under wickednesses.” J. C. Greenfield shows that the preposition can mean “among” as well (“Prepositions B Tachat in Jes 57:5,” ZAW 32 [1961]: 227). That would allow “among wicked men.” It could also be “instead of” or even “in return for [their wickedness]” which is what the RSV does.

[34:26]  ¹⁸ tn The text simply uses רֹאִים (ro’im): “[in the place where there are] seers,” i.e., spectators.

[36:24]  ²¹ tn The expression is “that you extol,” serving as an object of the verb.

[36:31]  ²⁵ tn The verb is יָדִין (yadin, “he judges”). Houbigant proposedיָזוּן (yazun, “he nourishes”). This has found wide acceptance among commentators (cf. NAB). G. R. Driver retained the MT but gave a meaning “enriches” to the verb (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 88ff.).

[38:2]  ²⁹ tn The demonstrative pronoun is used here to emphasize the interrogative pronoun (see GKC 442 §136.c).

[38:2]  ³⁰ sn The referent of “counsel” here is not the debate between Job and the friends, but the purposes of God (see Ps 33:10; Prov 19:21; Isa 19:17). Dhorme translates it “Providence.”