Job 5:22

5:22 You will laugh at destruction and famine ¹ 

and need not ²  be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

Job 22:4

22:4 Is it because of your piety ³  that he rebukes you

and goes to judgment with you? ⁴ 

Job 39:16

39:16 She is harsh ⁵  with her young,

as if they were not hers;

she is unconcerned

about the uselessness of her labor.

[5:22]  ¹ tc The repetition of “destruction” and “famine” here has prompted some scholars to delete the whole verse. Others try to emend the text. The LXX renders them as “the unrighteous and the lawless.” But there is no difficulty in having the repetition of the words as found in the MT.

[5:22]  ² tn The negated jussive is used here to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen (GKC 322 §109.e).

[22:4]  ³ tn The word “your fear” or “your piety” refers to Job’s reverence – it is his fear of God (thus a subjective genitive). When “fear” is used of religion, it includes faith and adoration on the positive side, fear and obedience on the negative.

[22:4]  ⁴ sn Of course the point is that God does not charge Job because he is righteous; the point is he must be unrighteous.

[39:16]  ⁵ sn This verb, “to deal harshly; to harden; to treat cruelly,” is used for hardening the heart elsewhere (see Isa 63:17).