Job 6:13

6:13 Is ¹  not my power to help myself nothing,

and has not every resource ²  been driven from me?

Job 13:13

13:13 “Refrain from talking ³  with me so that ⁴  I may speak;

then let come to me ⁵  what may. ⁶ 

Job 19:13

Job’s Forsaken State

19:13 “He has put my relatives ⁷  far from me;

my acquaintances only ⁸  turn away from me.

Job 7:16

7:16 I loathe ⁹  it; ¹⁰  I do not want to live forever;

leave me alone, ¹¹  for my days are a vapor! ¹² 

Job 7:19

7:19 Will you never ¹³  look away from me, ¹⁴ 

will you not let me alone ¹⁵ 

long enough to swallow my spittle?

Job 10:20

10:20 Are not my days few? ¹⁶ 

Cease, ¹⁷  then, and leave ¹⁸  me alone, ¹⁹ 

that I may find a little comfort, ²⁰ 

Job 27:5

27:5 I will never ²¹  declare that you three ²²  are in the right;

until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!

Job 30:1

Job’s Present Misery

30:1 “But now they mock me, those who are younger ²³  than I,

whose fathers I disdained too much ²⁴ 

to put with my sheep dogs. ²⁵ 

Job 42:3

42:3 you asked, ²⁶ 

‘Who is this who darkens counsel

without knowledge?’

But ²⁷  I have declared without understanding ²⁸ 

things too wonderful for me to know. ²⁹ 

[6:13]  ¹ tn For the use of the particle אִם (’im) in this kind of interrogative clause, see GKC 475 §150.g, note.

[6:13]  ² tn The word means something like “recovery,” or the powers of recovery; it was used in Job 5:12. In 11:6 it applies to a condition of the mind, such as mental resource. Job is thinking not so much of relief or rescue from his troubles, but of strength to bear them.

[13:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew has a pregnant construction: “be silent from me,” meaning “stand away from me in silence,” or “refrain from talking with me.” See GKC 384 §119.ff. The LXX omits “from me,” as do several commentators.

[13:13]  ⁴ tn The verb is the Piel cohortative; following the imperative of the first colon this verb would show purpose or result. The inclusion of the independent personal pronoun makes the focus emphatic – “so that I (in my turn) may speak.”

[13:13]  ⁵ tn The verb עָבַר (’avar, “pass over”) is used with the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) to express the advent of misfortune, namely, something coming against him.

[13:13]  ⁶ tn The interrogative pronoun מָה (mah) is used in indirect questions, here introducing a clause [with the verb understood] as the object – “whatever it be” (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).

[19:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”

[19:13]  ⁶ 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).

[7:16]  ⁷ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 107-8) thinks the idea of loathing or despising is problematic since there is no immediate object. He notes that the verb מָאַס (ma’as, “loathe”) is parallel to מָסַס (masas, “melt”) in the sense of “flow, drip” (Job 42:6). This would give the idea “I am fading away” or “I grow weaker,” or as Dhorme chooses, “I am pining away.”

[7:16]  ⁸ tn There is no object for the verb in the text. But the most likely object would be “my life” from the last verse, especially since in this verse Job will talk about not living forever. Some have thought the object should be “death,” meaning that Job despised death more than the pains. But that is a forced meaning; besides, as H. H. Rowley points out, the word here means to despise something, to reject it. Job wanted death.

[7:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “cease from me.” This construction means essentially “leave me in peace.”

[7:16]  ¹⁰ tn This word הֶבֶל (hevel) is difficult to translate. It means “breath; puff of air; vapor” and then figuratively, “vanity.” Job is saying that his life is but a breath – it is brief and fleeting. Compare Ps 144:4 for a similar idea.

[7:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to what [= how long] will you not look away from me.”

[7:19]  ¹⁰ tn The verb שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “to look”) with the preposition מִן (min) means “to look away from; to avert one’s gaze.” Job wonders if God would not look away from him even briefly, for the constant vigilance is killing him.

[7:19]  ¹¹ tn The Hiphil of רָפָה (rafah) means “to leave someone alone.”

[10:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “are not my days few; cease/let it cease….” The versions have “the days of my life” (reading יְמֵי חֶלְדִי [yÿme kheldi] instead of יָמַי וַחֲדָל [yamay vakhadal]). Many commentators and the RSV, NAB, and NRSV accept this reading. The Kethib is an imperfect or jussive, “let it cease/ it will cease.” The Qere is more intelligible for some interpreters – “cease” (as in 7:16). For a discussion of the readings, see D. W. Thomas, “Some Observations on the Hebrew Root hadal,” VTSup 4 [1057]: 14). But the text is not impossible as it stands.

[10:20]  ¹² tn Taking the form as the imperative with the ו (vav), the sentence follows the direct address to God (as in v. 18 as well as 7:16). This requires less changes. See the preceding note regarding the plausibility of the jussive. The point of the verse is clear in either reading – his life is short, and he wants the suffering to stop.

[10:20]  ¹³ tn In the different suggestions for the line, the י (yod) of this word is believed to belong to the preceding word making “my life.” That would here leave an imperative rather than an imperfect. But if the Qere is read, then it would be an imperative anyway, and there would be no reason for the change.

[10:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “put from me,” an expression found nowhere else. The Qere has a ו (vav) and not a י (yod), forming an imperative rather than an imperfect. H. H. Rowley suggests that there is an ellipsis here, “hand” needing to be supplied. Job wanted God to take his hand away from him. That is plausible, but difficult.

[10:20]  ¹⁵ tn The verb בָּלַג (balag) in the Hiphil means “to have cheer [or joy]” (see 7:27; Ps 39:14). The cohortative following the imperatives shows the purpose or result – “in order that.”

[27:5]  ¹³ tn The text uses חָלִילָה לִּי (khalilah li) meaning “far be it from me,” or more strongly, something akin to “sacrilege.”

[27:5]  ¹⁴ tn In the Hebrew text “you” is plural – a reference to Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad. To make this clear, “three” is supplied in the translation.

[30:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “smaller than I for days.”

[30:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who I disdained their fathers to set…,” meaning “whose fathers I disdained to set.” The relative clause modifies the young fellows who mock; it explains that Job did not think highly enough of them to put them with the dogs. The next verse will explain why.

[30:1]  ¹⁷ sn Job is mocked by young fellows who come from low extraction. They mocked their elders and their betters. The scorn is strong here – dogs were despised as scavengers.

[42:3]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn The word לָכֵן (lakhen) is simply “but,” as in Job 31:37.

[42:3]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn The last clause is “and I do not know.” This is also subordinated to become a dependent clause.