Job 4:8

4:8 Even as I have seen, ¹  those who plow ²  iniquity ³ 

and those who sow trouble reap the same. ⁴ 

Job 10:19

10:19 I should have been as though I had never existed; ⁵ 

I should have been carried

right from the womb to the grave!

Job 29:4

29:4 just as I was in my most productive time, ⁶ 

when God’s intimate friendship ⁷  was experienced in my tent,

[4:8]  ¹ tn The perfect verb here represents the indefinite past. It has no specific sighting in mind, but refers to each time he has seen the wicked do this.

[4:8]  ² sn The figure is an implied metaphor. Plowing suggests the idea of deliberately preparing (or cultivating) life for evil. This describes those who are fundamentally wicked.

[4:8]  ³ tn The LXX renders this with a plural “barren places.”

[4:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “reap it.”

[10:19]  ⁵ sn This means “If only I had never come into existence.”

[29:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the days of my ripeness.” The word חֹרֶף (khoref) denotes the time when the harvest is gathered in because the fruit is ripe. Since this is the autumn, many translate that way here – but “autumn” has a different connotation now. The text is pointing to a time when the righteous reaps what he has sown, and can enjoy the benefits. The translation “most productive time” seems to capture the point better than “autumn” or even “prime.”

[29:4]  ¹⁰ tc The word סוֹד (sod) in this verse is an infinitive construct, prefixed with the temporal preposition and followed by a subjective genitive. It forms a temporal clause. There is some disagreement about the form and its meaning. The confusion in the versions shows that they were paraphrasing to get the general sense. In the Bible the derived noun (from יָסַד, yasad) means (a) a circle of close friends; (b) intimacy. Others follow the LXX and the Syriac with a meaning of “protect,” based on a change from ד (dalet) to כּ (kaf), and assuming the root was סָכַךְ (sakhakh). This would mean, “when God protected my tent” (cf. NAB). D. W. Thomas tries to justify this meaning without changing the text (“The Interpretation of BSOÝD in Job 29:4,” JBL 65 [1946]: 63-66).