Job 5:18-20

5:18 For ¹  he ²  wounds, ³  but he also bandages;

he strikes, but his hands also heal.

5:19 He will deliver you ⁴  from six calamities;

yes, in seven ⁵  no evil will touch you.

5:20 In time of famine ⁶  he will redeem you from death,

and in time of war from the power of the sword. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 30:3

30:3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he ⁸  has scattered you.

Psalms 14:7

14:7 I wish the deliverance ⁹  of Israel would come from Zion!

When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, ¹⁰ 

may Jacob rejoice, ¹¹ 

may Israel be happy! ¹² 

Psalms 53:6

53:6 I wish the deliverance ¹³  of Israel would come from Zion!

When God restores the well-being of his people, ¹⁴ 

may Jacob rejoice, ¹⁵ 

may Israel be happy! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 126:1

Psalm 126 ¹⁷ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁸ 

126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, ¹⁹ 

we thought we were dreaming. ²⁰ 

Psalms 126:4

126:4 O Lord, restore our well-being,

just as the streams in the arid south are replenished. ²¹ 

[5:18]  ¹ sn Verses 18-23 give the reasons why someone should accept the chastening of God – the hand that wounds is the same hand that heals. But, of course, the lines do not apply to Job because his suffering is not due to divine chastening.

[5:18]  ² tn The addition of the independent pronoun here makes the subject emphatic, as if to say, “For it is he who makes….”

[5:18]  ³ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse describe the characteristic activities of God; the classification as habitual imperfect fits the idea and is to be rendered with the English present tense.

[5:19]  ⁴ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperfect of נָצַל (natsal, “deliver”). These verbs might have been treated as habitual imperfects if it were not for the use of the numerical images – “six calamities…in seven.” So the nuance is specific future instead.

[5:19]  ⁵ tn The use of a numerical ladder as we have here – “six // seven” is frequent in wisdom literature to show completeness. See Prov 6:16; Amos 1:3, Mic 5:5. A number that seems to be sufficient for the point is increased by one, as if to say there is always one more. By using this Eliphaz simply means “in all troubles” (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 56).

[5:20]  ⁶ sn Targum Job here sees an allusion to the famine of Egypt and the war with Amalek.

[5:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the hand of the sword.” This is idiomatic for “the power of the sword.” The expression is also metonymical, meaning from the effect of the sword, which is death.

[30:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[14:7]  ⁹ sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[14:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[14:7]  ¹¹ tn The verb form is jussive.

[14:7]  ¹² tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[53:6]  ¹³ tn This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[53:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[53:6]  ¹⁵ tn The verb form is jussive.

[53:6]  ¹⁶ tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[126:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 126. Recalling the joy of past deliverance, God’s covenant community asks for a fresh display of God’s power and confidently anticipate their sorrow being transformed into joy.

[126:1]  ¹⁸ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[126:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew noun שִׁיבַת (shivat) occurs only here in the OT. For this reason many prefer to emend the form to the more common שְׁבִית (shevit) or שְׁבוּת (shÿvut), both of which are used as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv; see Ps 14:7). However an Aramaic cognate of שְׁבִית appears in an eighth century b.c. Old Aramaic inscription with the verb שׁוּב. This cognate noun appears to mean “return” (see J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Treaties of Sefire [BibOr], 119-20) or “restoration” (see DNWSI 2:1125). Therefore it appears that שְׁבִית should be retained and understood as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב. In addition to Fitzmyer (119-20) see L. C. Allen, who offers the literal translation, “turn with a turning toward” (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170). Allen takes שְׁבִית as construct and understands “Zion” as an objective genitive.

[126:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “we were like dreamers.” This could mean the speakers were so overcome with ecstatic joy (see v. 3b) that they were like those who fantasize about pleasurable experiences in their sleep (see Isa 29:7-8). Since dreams are more commonly associated in the OT with prophetic visions, the community may be comparing their experience of God’s renewed favor to a prophet’s receiving divine visions. Just as a prophetic dream sweeps the individual into a different dimension and sometimes brings one face-to-face with God himself (see Gen 28:11-15; 1 Kgs 3:5-15), so the community was aware of God’s presence in a special way in the day of Zion’s restoration. Though the MT as it stands makes good sense, some choose to understand a homonymic root here meaning “to be healthy; to be strong” (see BDB 321 s.v. I חָלַם) and translate, “we were like those restored to health.” This reading appears to have the support of several ancient translations as well as 11QPs^a. See L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170-71) for a discussion of the viewpoints.

[126:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “like the streams in the Negev.”