Job 42:6

42:6 Therefore I despise myself, ¹ 

and I repent in dust and ashes!

Job 42:2

42:2 “I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted;

Job 13:19

13:19 Who ²  will contend with me?

If anyone can, I will be silent and die. ³ 

Isaiah 61:3

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ⁴  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ⁵  instead of discouragement. ⁶ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ⁷ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 27:30

27:30 They will lament loudly ⁹  over you and cry bitterly.

They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes; ¹⁰ 

Jonah 3:6

3:6 When the news ¹¹  reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes.

Matthew 11:21

11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ¹²  Woe to you, Bethsaida! If ¹³  the miracles ¹⁴  done in you had been done in Tyre ¹⁵  and Sidon, ¹⁶  they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

[42:6]  ¹ tn Or “despise what I said.” There is no object on the verb; Job could be despising himself or the things he said (see L. J. Kuyper, “Repentance of Job,” VT 9 [1959]: 91-94).

[13:19]  ² tn The interrogative is joined with the emphatic pronoun, stressing “who is he [who] will contend,” or more emphatically, “who in the world will contend.” Job is confident that no one can bring charges against him. He is certain of success.

[13:19]  ³ sn Job is confident that he will be vindicated. But if someone were to show up and have proof of sin against him, he would be silent and die (literally “keep silent and expire”).

[61:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ⁷ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[27:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”

[27:30]  ¹⁰ tn Note a similar expression to “roll in the ashes” in Mic 1:10.

[3:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “word” or “matter.”

[11:21]  ¹² sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[11:21]  ¹³ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[11:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[11:21]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[11:21]  ¹⁶ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”