Discovery BoxJob 5:4
Context5:4 His children are far 1 from safety,
and they are crushed 2 at the place where judgment is rendered, 3
nor is there anyone to deliver them. 4
Job 11:14
Context11:14 if 5 iniquity is in your hand – put it far away, 6
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
Job 19:13
Context19:13 “He has put my relatives 7 far from me;
my acquaintances only 8 turn away from me.
Job 21:16
Context21:16 But their prosperity is not their own doing. 9
The counsel of the wicked is far from me! 10
Job 22:18
Context22:18 But it was he 11 who filled their houses
with good things –
yet the counsel of the wicked 12
was far from me. 13
Job 22:23
Context22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; 14
if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,
Job 30:10
Context30:10 They detest me and maintain their distance; 15
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
[5:4] 1 tn The imperfect verbs in this verse describe the condition of the accursed situation. Some commentators follow the LXX and take these as jussives, making this verse the curse that the man pronounced upon the fool. Rashi adds “This is the malediction with which I have cursed him.” That would make the speaker the one calling down the judgment on the fool rather than responding by observation how God destroyed the habitation of the fool.
[5:4] 2 tn The verb יִדַּכְּאוּ (yiddakkÿ’u) could be taken as the passive voice, or in the reciprocal sense (“crush one another”) or reflexive (“crush themselves”). The context favors the idea that the children of the foolish person will be destroyed because there is no one who will deliver them.
[5:4] 3 tn Heb “in the gate.” The city gate was the place of both business and justice. The sense here seems to fit the usage of gates as the place of legal disputes, so the phrase “at the place of judgment” has been used in the translation.
[5:4] 4 tn The text simply says “and there is no deliverer.” The entire clause could be subordinated to the preceding clause, and rendered simply “without a deliverer.”
[11:14] 5 tn Verse 14 should be taken as a parenthesis and not a continuation of the protasis, because it does not fit with v. 13 in that way (D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 256).
[11:14] 6 tn Many commentators follow the Vulgate and read the line “if you put away the sin that is in your hand.” They do this because the imperative comes between the protasis (v. 13) and the apodosis (v. 15) and does not appear to be clearly part of the protasis. The idea is close to the MT, but the MT is much more forceful – if you find sin in your hand, get rid of it.
[19:13] 10 tn The LXX apparently took אַךְ־זָרוּ (’akh, “even, only,” and zaru, “they turn away”) together as if it was the verb אַכְזָרוּ (’akhzaru, “they have become cruel,” as in 20:21). But the grammar in the line would be difficult with this. Moreover, the word is most likely from זוּר (zur, “to turn away”). See L. A. Snijders, “The Meaning of zar in the Old Testament,” OTS 10 (1964): 1-154 (especially p. 9).
[21:16] 13 tn Heb “is not in their hand.”
[21:16] 14 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] 17 tn The pronoun is added for this emphasis; it has “but he” before the verb.
[22:18] 19 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).
[22:23] 21 tc The MT has “you will be built up” (תִּבָּנֶה, tibbaneh). But the LXX has “humble yourself” (reading תְּעַנֶּה [tÿ’anneh] apparently). Many commentators read this; Dahood has “you will be healed.”
