Job 6:20

6:20 They were distressed, ¹ 

because each one had been ²  so confident;

they arrived there, ³  but were disappointed.

Job 12:13

12:13 “With God ⁴  are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his. ⁵ 

Job 28:20

God Alone Has Wisdom

28:20 “But wisdom – where does it come from? ⁶ 

Where is the place of understanding?

Job 33:33

33:33 If not, you listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 36:8

36:8 But if they are bound in chains, ⁷ 

and held captive by the cords of affliction,

[6:20]  ¹ tn The verb בּוֹשׁ (bosh) basically means “to be ashamed”; however, it has a wider range of meaning such as “disappointed” or “distressed.” The feeling of shame or distress is because of their confidence that they knew what they were doing. The verb is strengthened here with the parallel חָפַר (khafar, “to be confounded, disappointed”).

[6:20]  ² tn The perfect verb has the nuance of past perfect here, for their confidence preceded their disappointment. Note the contrast, using these verbs, in Ps 22:6: “they trusted in you and they were not put to shame [i.e., disappointed].”

[6:20]  ³ tn The LXX misread the prepositional phrase as the noun “their cities”; it gives the line as “They too that trust in cities and riches shall come to shame.”

[12:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ⁵ sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [sic] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”

[28:20]  ⁷ tn The refrain is repeated, except now the verb is תָּבוֹא (tavo’, “come”).

[36:8]  ¹⁰ tn Dhorme thinks that the verse is still talking about kings, who may be in captivity. But this diverts attention from Elihu’s emphasis on the righteous.