Job 5:13

5:13 He catches ¹  the wise in their own craftiness, ² 

and the counsel of the cunning ³  is brought to a quick end. ⁴ 

Job 12:13

12:13 “With God ⁵  are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his. ⁶ 

Job 18:7

18:7 His vigorous steps ⁷  are restricted, ⁸ 

and his own counsel throws him down. ⁹ 

Job 29:21

Job’s Reputation

29:21 “People ¹⁰  listened to me and waited silently; ¹¹ 

they kept silent for my advice.

Job 21:16

21:16 But their prosperity is not their own doing. ¹² 

The counsel of the wicked is far from me! ¹³ 

Job 22:18

22:18 But it was he ¹⁴  who filled their houses

with good things –

yet the counsel of the wicked ¹⁵ 

was far from me. ¹⁶ 

Job 38:2

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

with words without knowledge?

Job 10:3

10:3 Is it good for you ¹⁹  to oppress, ²⁰ 

to ²¹  despise the work of your hands,

while ²²  you smile ²³ 

on the schemes of the wicked?

Job 42:3

42:3 you asked, ²⁴ 

‘Who is this who darkens counsel

without knowledge?’

But ²⁵  I have declared without understanding ²⁶ 

things too wonderful for me to know. ²⁷ 

[5:13]  ¹ tn The participles continue the description of God. Here he captures or ensnares the wise in their wickedly clever plans. See also Ps 7:16, where the wicked are caught in the pit they have dug – they are only wise in their own eyes.

[5:13]  ² sn This is the only quotation from the Book of Job in the NT (although Rom 11:35 seems to reflect 41:11, and Phil 1:19 is similar to 13:6). Paul cites it in 1 Cor 3:19.

[5:13]  ³ tn The etymology of נִפְתָּלִים (niftalim) suggests a meaning of “twisted” (see Prov 8:8) in the sense of tortuous. See Gen 30:8; Ps 18:26 [27].

[5:13]  ⁴ tn The Niphal of מָהַר (mahar) means “to be hasty; to be irresponsible.” The meaning in the line may be understood in this sense: The counsel of the wily is hastened, that is, precipitated before it is ripe, i.e., frustrated (A. B. Davidson, Job, 39).

[12:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ⁶ sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [sic] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”

[18:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “the steps of his vigor,” the genitive being the attribute.

[18:7]  ¹⁰ tn The verb צָרַר (tsarar) means “to be cramped; to be straitened; to be hemmed in.” The trouble has hemmed him in, so that he cannot walk with the full, vigorous steps he had before. The LXX has “Let the meanest of men spoil his goods.”

[18:7]  ¹¹ tn The LXX has “causes him to stumble,” which many commentators accept; but this involves the transposition of the three letters. The verb is שָׁלַךְ (shalakh, “throw”) not כָּשַׁל (kashal, “stumble”).

[29:21]  ¹³ tn “People” is supplied; the verb is plural.

[29:21]  ¹⁴ tc The last verb of the first half, “wait, hope,” and the first verb in the second colon, “be silent,” are usually reversed by the commentators (see G. R. Driver, “Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 86). But if “wait” has the idea of being silent as they wait for him to speak, then the second line would say they were silent for the reason of his advice. The reading of the MT is not impossible.

[21:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “is not in their hand.”

[21:16]  ¹⁸ sn Even though their life seems so good in contrast to his own plight, Job cannot and will not embrace their principles – “far be from me their counsel.”

[22:18]  ²¹ tn The pronoun is added for this emphasis; it has “but he” before the verb.

[22:18]  ²² tn See Job 10:3.

[22:18]  ²³ tc The LXX has “from him,” and this is followed by several commentators. But the MT is to be retained, for Eliphaz is recalling the words of Job. Verses 17 and 18 are deleted by a number of commentators as a gloss because they have many similarities to 21:14-16. But Eliphaz is recalling what Job said, in order to say that the prosperity to which Job alluded was only the prelude to a disaster he denied (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 156).

[38:2]  ²⁵ tn The demonstrative pronoun is used here to emphasize the interrogative pronoun (see GKC 442 §136.c).

[38:2]  ²⁶ 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.”

[10:3]  ²⁹ tn Or “Does it give you pleasure?” The expression could also mean, “Is it profitable for you?” or “Is it fitting for you?”

[10:3]  ³⁰ tn The construction uses כִּי (ki) with the imperfect verb – “that you oppress.” Technically, this clause serves as the subject, and “good” is the predicate adjective. In such cases one often uses an English infinitive to capture the point: “Is it good for you to oppress?” The LXX changes the meaning considerably: “Is it good for you if I am unrighteous, for you have disowned the work of your hands.”

[10:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “that you despise.”

[10:3]  ³² tn Now, in the second half of the verse, there is a change in the structure. The conjunction on the preposition followed by the perfect verb represents a circumstantial clause.

[10:3]  ³³ tn The Hiphil of the verb יָפַע (yafa’) means “shine.” In this context the expression “you shine upon” would mean “have a glowing expression,” be radiant, or smile.

[42:3]  ³³ tn The expression “you asked” is added here to clarify the presence of the line to follow. Many commentators delete it as a gloss from Job 38:2. If it is retained, then Job has to be recalling God’s question before he answers it.

[42:3]  ³⁴ tn The word לָכֵן (lakhen) is simply “but,” as in Job 31:37.

[42:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and I do not understand.” The expression serves here in an adverbial capacity. It also could be subordinated as a complement: “I have declared [things that] I do not understand.”

[42:3]  ³⁶ tn The last clause is “and I do not know.” This is also subordinated to become a dependent clause.