Job 4:3

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

you have strengthened ³  feeble hands. ⁴ 

Job 11:19

11:19 You will lie down with ⁵  no one to make you afraid,

and many will seek your favor. ⁶ 

Job 32:9

32:9 It is not the aged ⁷  who are wise,

nor old men who understand what is right.

Job 35:9

35:9 “People ⁸  cry out

because of the excess of oppression; ⁹ 

they cry out for help

because of the power ¹⁰  of the mighty. ¹¹ 

[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).

[11:19]  ⁵ tn The clause that reads “and there is no one making you afraid,” is functioning circumstantially here (see 5:4; 10:7).

[11:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “they will stroke your face,” a picture drawn from the domestic scene of a child stroking the face of the parent. The verb is a Piel, meaning “stroke, make soft.” It is used in the Bible of seeking favor from God (supplication); but it may on the human level also mean seeking to sway people by flattery. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 225-41.

[32:9]  ⁹ tn The MT has “the great” or “the many,” meaning great in years according to the parallelism.

[35:9]  ¹³ tn The word “people” is supplied, because the sentence only has the masculine plural verb.

[35:9]  ¹⁴ tn The final noun is an abstract plural, “oppression.” There is no reason to change it to “oppressors” to fit the early versions. The expression is literally “multitude of oppression.”

[35:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the arm,” a metaphor for strength or power.

[35:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “of the many” (see HALOT 1172 s.v. I רַב 6.a).