Job 8:12-13

8:12 While they are still beginning to flower ¹ 

and not ripe for cutting, ² 

they can wither away ³ 

faster ⁴  than any grass! ⁵ 

8:13 Such is the destiny ⁶  of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless ⁷  perishes,

Job 20:5-8

20:5 that the elation of the wicked is brief, ⁸ 

the joy of the godless ⁹  lasts but a moment. ¹⁰ 

20:6 Even though his stature ¹¹  reaches to the heavens

and his head touches the clouds,

20:7 he will perish forever, like his own excrement; ¹² 

those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’

20:8 Like a dream he flies away, never again to be found, ¹³ 

and like a vision of the night he is put to flight.

Psalms 37:35-36

37:35 I have seen ruthless evil men ¹⁴ 

growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil. ¹⁵ 

37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared! ¹⁶ 

I looked for them, but they could not be found.

Proverbs 7:22-23

7:22 Suddenly he went ¹⁷  after her

like an ox that goes to the slaughter,

like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare ¹⁸ 

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver ¹⁹  –

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life. ²⁰ 

Proverbs 27:1

27:1 Do not boast ²¹  about tomorrow; ²² 

for you do not know ²³  what a day may bring forth.

Luke 21:34-35

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ²⁴  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ²⁵  21:35 For ²⁶  it will overtake ²⁷  all who live on the face of the whole earth. ²⁸ 

Luke 21:1

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ²⁹  looked up ³⁰  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ³¹ 

Luke 5:3

5:3 He got into ³²  one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then ³³  Jesus ³⁴  sat down ³⁵  and taught the crowds from the boat.

[8:12]  ¹ tn The word has been traditionally translated “greenness” (so KJV, ASV), but some modern commentators argue for “in flower.” The word is found only in Song 6:11 (where it may be translated “blossoms”). From the same root is אָבִיב (’aviv, “fresh young ears of barley”). Here the word refers to the plant that is still in its early stages of flowering. It should not be translated to suggest the plant is flowering (cf. NRSV), but translating as if the plant is green (so NASB) is also problematic.

[8:12]  ² sn The idea is that as the plant begins to flower, but before it is to be cut down, there is no sign of withering or decay in it. But if the water is withdrawn, it will wither sooner than any other herb. The point Bildad will make of this is that when people rebel against God and his grace is withheld, they perish more swiftly than the water reed.

[8:12]  ³ tn The imperfect verb here is the modal use of potential, “can wither away” if the water is not there.

[8:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “before.”

[8:12]  ⁵ tn The LXX interprets the line: “does not any herb wither before it has received moisture?”

[8:13]  ⁶ tn The word אָרְחוֹת (’orkhot) means “ways” or “paths” in the sense of tracks of destiny or fate. The word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way, road, path”) is used in a similar way (Isa 40:27; Ps 37:5). However, many commentators emend the text to read אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) in harmony with the LXX. But Prov 1:19 (if not emended as well) confirms the primary meaning here without changing the text (see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 199).

[8:13]  ⁷ tn The word חָנֵף (khanef) is often translated “hypocrite.” But the root verb means “to be profane,” and this would be done by idolatry or bloodshed. It describes an irreligious person, a godless person. In Dan 11:32 the word seems to mean “make someone pagan.” The word in this verse is parallel to “those who forget God.”

[20:5]  ⁸ tn The expression in the text is “quite near.” This indicates that it is easily attained, and that its end is near.

[20:5]  ⁹ tn For the discussion of חָנֵף (khanef, “godless”) see Job 8:13.

[20:5]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase is “until a moment,” meaning it is short-lived. But see J. Barr, “Hebrew ’ad, especially at Job 1:18 and Neh 7:3,” JSS 27 (1982): 177-88.

[20:6]  ¹¹ tn The word שִׂיא (si’) has been connected with the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up”), and so interpreted here as “pride.” The form is parallel to “head” in the next part, and so here it refers to his stature, the part that rises up and is crowned. But the verse does describe the pride of such a person, with his head in the heavens.

[20:7]  ¹² tn There have been attempts to change the word here to “like a whirlwind,” or something similar. But many argue that there is no reason to remove a coarse expression from Zophar.

[20:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they do not find him.” The verb has no expressed subject, and so here is equivalent to a passive. The clause itself is taken adverbially in the sentence.

[37:35]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.

[37:35]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mit’areh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (’arah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (’alah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.

[37:36]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).

[7:22]  ¹⁷ tn The participle with “suddenly” gives a more vivid picture, almost as if to say “there he goes.”

[7:22]  ¹⁸ tn The present translation follows R. B. Y. Scott (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 64). This third colon of the verse would usually be rendered, “fetters to the chastening of a fool” (KJV, ASV, and NASB are all similar). But there is no support that עֶכֶס (’ekhes) means “fetters.” It appears in Isaiah 3:16 as “anklets.” The parallelism here suggests that some animal imagery is required. Thus the ancient versions have “as a dog to the bonds.”

[7:23]  ¹⁹ sn The figure of an arrow piercing the liver (an implied comparison) may refer to the pangs of a guilty conscience that the guilty must reap along with the spiritual and physical ruin that follows (see on these expressions H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament).

[7:23]  ²⁰ tn The expression that it is “for/about/over his life” means that it could cost him his life (e.g., Num 16:38). Alternatively, the line could refer to moral corruption and social disgrace rather than physical death – but this would not rule out physical death too.

[27:1]  ²¹ tn The form אַל־תִּתְהַלֵּל (’al-tithallel) is the Hitpael jussive negated; it is from the common verb “to praise,” and so in this setting means “to praise oneself” or “to boast.”

[27:1]  ²² sn The word “tomorrow” is a metonymy of subject, meaning what will be done tomorrow, or in the future in general.

[27:1]  ²³ sn The expression “you do not know” balances the presumption of the first line, reminding the disciple of his ignorance and therefore his need for humility (e.g., Matt 6:34; Luke 12:20; Jas 4:13-16).

[21:34]  ²⁴ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

[21:34]  ²⁵ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

[21:35]  ²⁶ tn There is debate in the textual tradition about the position of γάρ (gar) and whether v. 35 looks back to v. 34 or is independent. The textual evidence does slightly favor placing γάρ after the verb and thus linking it back to v. 34. The other reading looks like Isa 24:17. However, the construction is harsh and the translation prefers for stylistic reasons to start a new English sentence here.

[21:35]  ²⁷ tn Or “come upon.”

[21:35]  ²⁸ sn This judgment involves everyone: all who live on the face of the whole earth. No one will escape this evaluation.

[21:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:1]  ³¹ tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

[5:3]  ³² tn Grk “Getting into”; the participle ἐμβάς (embas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:3]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:3]  ³⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ³⁵ tn Grk “sitting down”; the participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.