Job 6:11

6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait? ¹ 

and what is my end, ² 

that I should prolong my life?

Job 21:15

21:15 Who is the Almighty, that ³  we should serve him?

What would we gain

if we were to pray ⁴  to him?’ ⁵ 

Job 25:4

25:4 How then can a human being be righteous before God?

How can one born of a woman be pure? ⁶ 

Job 31:14

31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; ⁷ 

when he intervenes, ⁸ 

how will I respond to him?

Job 35:6-7

35:6 If you sin, how does it affect God? ⁹ 

If your transgressions are many,

what does it do to him? ¹⁰ 

35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God,

or what does he receive from your hand?

[6:11]  ¹ sn Now, in vv. 11-13, Job proceeds to describe his hopeless condition. In so doing, he is continuing his defense of his despair and lament. The section begins with these rhetorical questions in which Job affirms that he does not have the strength to wait for the blessings that Eliphaz is talking about.

[6:11]  ² tn The word translated “my end” is קִצִּי (qitsi). It refers to the termination of his life. In Ps 39:5 it is parallel to “the measure of my days.” In a sense, Job is asking what future he has. To him, the “end” of his affliction can only be death.

[21:15]  ³ tn The interrogative clause is followed by ki, similar to Exod 5:2, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him?”

[21:15]  ⁴ tn The verb פָּגַע (paga’) means “to encounter; to meet,” but also “to meet with request; to intercede; to interpose.” The latter meaning is a derived meaning by usage.

[21:15]  ⁵ tn The verse is not present in the LXX. It may be that it was considered too blasphemous and therefore omitted.

[25:4]  ⁵ sn Bildad here does not come up with new expressions; rather, he simply uses what Eliphaz had said (see Job 4:17-19 and 15:14-16).

[31:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “arises.” The LXX reads “takes vengeance,” an interpretation that is somewhat correct but unnecessary. The verb “to rise” would mean “to confront in judgment.”

[31:14]  ⁸ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” but with God as the subject it means any divine intervention for blessing or cursing, anything God does that changes a person’s life. Here it is “visit to judge.”

[35:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “him” (also in v. 7); the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[35:6]  ¹⁰ tn See Job 7:20.