Job 8:21

8:21 He will yet ¹  fill your mouth with laughter, ² 

and your lips with gladness.

Job 12:20

12:20 He deprives the trusted advisers ³  of speech ⁴ 

and takes away the discernment ⁵  of elders.

Job 13:6

13:6 “Listen now to my argument, ⁶ 

and be attentive to my lips’ contentions. ⁷ 

Job 16:5

16:5 But ⁸  I would strengthen ⁹  you with my words; ¹⁰ 

comfort from my lips would bring ¹¹  you relief.

Job 32:20

32:20 I will speak, ¹²  so that I may find relief;

I will open my lips, so that I may answer.

[8:21]  ¹ tn The word עַד (’ad, “until”) would give the reading “until he fills your mouth with laughter,” subordinating the verse to the preceding with some difficulty in interpretation. It would be saying that God will not reject the blameless man until he filled Job with joy. Almost all commentators and modern versions change the pointing to עוֹד (’od, “yet”), forming a hope for the future blessing of joy for Job.

[8:21]  ² sn “Laughter” (and likewise “gladness”) will here be metonymies of effect or adjunct, being put in place of the reason for the joy – restoration.

[12:20]  ³ tn The Hebrew נֶאֱמָנִים (ne’emanim) is the Niphal participle; it is often translated “the faithful” in the Bible. The Rabbis rather fancifully took the word from נְאֻם (nÿ’um, “oracle, utterance”) and so rendered it “those who are eloquent, fluent in words.” But that would make this the only place in the Bible where this form came from that root or any other root besides אָמַן (’aman, “confirm, support”). But to say that God takes away the speech of the truthful or the faithful would be very difficult. It has to refer to reliable men, because it is parallel to the elders or old men. The NIV has “trusted advisers,” which fits well with kings and judges and priests.

[12:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “he removes the lip of the trusted ones.”

[12:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “taste,” meaning “opinion” or “decision.”

[13:6]  ⁵ sn Job first will argue with his friends. His cause that he will plead with God begins in v. 13. The same root יָכַח (yakhakh, “argue, plead”) is used here as in v. 3b (see note). Synonymous parallelism between the two halves of this verse supports this translation.

[13:6]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew word רִבוֹת (rivot, “disputes, contentions”) continues the imagery of presenting a legal case. The term is used of legal disputations and litigation. See, also, v. 19a.

[16:5]  ⁷ tn “But” has been added in the translation to strengthen the contrast.

[16:5]  ⁸ tn The Piel of אָמַץ (’amats) means “to strengthen, fortify.”

[16:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “my mouth.”

[16:5]  ¹⁰ tn The verb יַחְשֹׂךְ (yakhsokh) means “to restrain; to withhold.” There is no object, so many make it first person subject, “I will not restrain.” The LXX and the Syriac have a different person – “I would not restrain.” G. R. Driver, arguing that the verb is intransitive here, made it “the solace of my lips would not [added] be withheld” (see JTS 34 [1933]: 380). D. J. A. Clines says that what is definitive is the use of the verb in the next line, where it clearly means “soothed, assuaged.”

[32:20]  ⁹ tn The cohortative expresses Elihu’s resolve to speak.