Job 7:11

Job Remonstrates with God

7:11 “Therefore, ¹  I will not refrain my mouth; ² 

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain ³  in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 10:1

An Appeal for Revelation

10:1 “I ⁴  am weary ⁵  of my life;

I will complain without restraint; ⁶ 

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Job 13:3

13:3 But I wish to speak ⁷  to the Almighty, ⁸ 

and I desire to argue ⁹  my case ¹⁰  with God.

Job 16:6

Abandonment by God and Man

16:6 “But ¹¹  if I speak, my pain is not relieved, ¹² 

and if I refrain from speaking

– how ¹³  much of it goes away?

Job 32:16

32:16 And I have waited. ¹⁴  But because they do not speak,

because they stand there and answer no more,

Job 34:33

34:33 Is it your opinion ¹⁵  that God ¹⁶  should recompense it,

because you reject this? ¹⁷ 

But you must choose, and not I,

so tell us what you know.

Job 37:20

37:20 Should he be informed that I want ¹⁸  to speak?

If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!

[7:11]  ¹ tn “Also I” has been rendered frequently as “therefore,” introducing a conclusion. BDB 168-69 s.v. גַמּ lists Ps 52:7 [5] as a parallel, but it also could be explained as an adversative.

[7:11]  ² sn “Mouth” here is metonymical for what he says – he will not withhold his complaints. Peake notes that in this section Job comes very close to doing what Satan said he would do. If he does not curse God to his face, he certainly does cast off restraints to his lament. But here Job excuses himself in advance of the lament.

[7:11]  ³ tn The verb is not limited to mental musing; it is used for pouring out a complaint or a lament (see S. Mowinckel, “The Verb si^ah and the Nouns si^ah, siha,” ST 15 [1961]: 1-10).

[10:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew has נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), usually rendered “my soul.”

[10:1]  ⁵ tn The verb is pointed like a Qal form but is originally a Niphal from קוּט (qut). Some wish to connect the word to Akkadian cognates for a meaning “I am in anguish”; but the meaning “I am weary” fits the passage well.

[10:1]  ⁶ tn The verb עָזַב (’azav) means “to abandon.” It may have an extended meaning of “to let go” or “to let slip.” But the expression “abandon to myself” means to abandon all restraint and give free course to the complaint.

[13:3]  ⁷ tn The verb is simply the Piel imperfect אֲדַבֵּר (’adabber, “I speak”). It should be classified as a desiderative imperfect, saying, “I desire to speak.” This is reinforced with the verb “to wish, desire” in the second half of the verse.

[13:3]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew title for God here is אֶל־שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”).

[13:3]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute functions here as the direct object of the verb “desire” (see GKC 340 §113.b).

[13:3]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh) is from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh), which means “to argue, plead, debate.” It has the legal sense here of arguing a case (cf. 5:17).

[16:6]  ¹⁰ tn “But” is supplied in the translation to strengthen the contrast.

[16:6]  ¹¹ tn The Niphal יֵחָשֵׂךְ (yekhasekh) means “to be soothed; to be assuaged.”

[16:6]  ¹² tn Some argue that מָה (mah) in the text is the Arabic ma, the simple negative. This would then mean “it does not depart far from me.” The interrogative used rhetorically amounts to the same thing, however, so the suggestion is not necessary.

[32:16]  ¹³ tn Some commentators take this as a question: “And shall [or must] I wait because they do not speak?” (A. B. Davidson, R. Gordis). But this is not convincing because the silence of the friends is the reason for him to speak, not to wait.

[34:33]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “is it from with you,” an idiomatic expression meaning “to suit you” or “according to your judgment.”

[34:33]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:33]  ¹⁸ tn There is no object on the verb, and the meaning is perhaps lost. The best guess is that Elihu is saying Job has rejected his teaching.

[37:20]  ¹⁹ tn This imperfect works well as a desiderative imperfect.