Discovery BoxJob 8:5-6
Context8:5 But 1 if you will look 2 to God,
and make your supplication 3 to the Almighty,
8:6 if you become 4 pure 5 and upright, 6
even now he will rouse himself 7 for you,
and will restore 8 your righteous abode. 9
Job 11:13-14
Context11:13 “As for you, 10 if you prove faithful, 11
and if 12 you stretch out your hands toward him, 13
11:14 if 14 iniquity is in your hand – put it far away, 15
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
Isaiah 55:6-7
Context55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; 16
call to him while he is nearby!
55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle 17
and sinful people their plans. 18
They should return 19 to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, 20
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 21
Hosea 14:1-2
Context14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sin has been your downfall! 22
14:2 Return to the Lord and repent! 23
Say to him: “Completely 24 forgive our iniquity;
accept 25 our penitential prayer, 26
that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. 27
Zechariah 1:3
Context1:3 Therefore say to the people: 28 The Lord who rules over all 29 says, “Turn 30 to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will turn to you,” says the Lord who rules over all.
Acts 26:20
Context26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, 31 and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, 32 performing deeds consistent with 33 repentance.
[8:5] 1 tn “But” is supplied to show the contrast between this verse and the preceding line.
[8:5] 2 tn The verb שִׁחַר (shikhar) means “to seek; to seek earnestly” (see 7:21). With the preposition אֶל (’el) the verb may carry the nuance of “to address; to have recourse to” (see E. Dhorme, Job, 114). The LXX connected it etymologically to “early” and read, “Be early in prayer to the Lord Almighty.”
[8:5] 3 tn The verb תִּתְחַנָּן (titkhannan) means “to make supplication; to seek favor; to seek grace” (from חָנַן, khanan). Bildad is saying that there is only one way for Job to escape the same fate as his children – he must implore God’s mercy. Job’s speech had spoken about God’s seeking him and not finding him; but Bildad is speaking of the importance of Job’s seeking God.
[8:6] 4 tn A verb form needs to be supplied here. Bildad is not saying to Job, “If you are pure [as you say you are].” Bildad is convinced that Job is a sinner. Therefore, “If you become pure” makes more sense here.
[8:6] 5 tn Or “innocent” (i.e., acquitted).
[8:6] 6 tn Many commentators delete this colon as a moralizing gloss on v. 5; but the phrase makes good sense, and simply serves as another condition. Besides, the expression is in the LXX.
[8:6] 7 tn The verb יָעִיר (ya’ir, “rouse, stir up”) is a strong anthropomorphism. The LXX has “he will answer your prayer” (which is probably only the LXX’s effort to avoid the anthropomorphism [D. J. A. Clines, Job (WBC), 198]). A reading of “watch over you” has been adopted because of parallel texts (see H. L. Ginsberg, “Two North Canaanite Letters from Ugarit,” BASOR 72 [1938]: 18-19; and H. N. Richardson, “A Ugaritic Letter of a King to His Mother,” JBL 66 [1947]: 321-24). Others suggest “his light will shine on you” or “he will bestow health on you.” But the idea of “awake” is common enough in the Bible to be retained here.
[8:6] 8 tn The Piel of שָׁלַם (shalam) means “to make good; to repay; to restore something to its wholeness; to reestablish.” The best understanding here would be “restore [Job] to his place.” Some take the verb in the sense of “reward [Job himself] with a righteous habitation.”
[8:6] 9 tn The construct נְוַת (nÿvat) is feminine; only the masculine occurs in Hebrew. But the meaning “abode of your righteousness” is clear enough. The righteousness of Job is pictured as inhabiting an estate, or it pictures the place where Job lives as a righteous man. A translation “rightful habitation” would mean “the habitation that you deserve” – if you are righteous.
[11:13] 10 tn The pronoun is emphatic, designed to put Job in a different class than the hollow men – at least to raise the possibility of his being in a different class.
[11:13] 11 tn The Hebrew uses the perfect of כּוּן (kun, “establish”) with the object “your heart.” The verb can be translated “prepare, fix, make firm” your heart. To fix the heart is to make it faithful and constant, the heart being the seat of the will and emotions. The use of the perfect here does not refer to the past, but should be given a future perfect sense – if you shall have fixed your heart, i.e., prove faithful. Job would have to make his heart secure, so that he was no longer driven about by differing views.
[11:13] 12 tn This half-verse is part of the protasis and not, as in the RSV, the apodosis to the first half. The series of “if” clauses will continue through these verses until v. 15.
[11:13] 13 sn This is the posture of prayer (see Isa 1:15). The expression means “spread out your palms,” probably meaning that the one praying would fall to his knees, put his forehead to the ground, and spread out his hands in front of him on the ground.
[11:14] 14 tn Verse 14 should be taken as a parenthesis and not a continuation of the protasis, because it does not fit with v. 13 in that way (D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 256).
[11:14] 15 tn Many commentators follow the Vulgate and read the line “if you put away the sin that is in your hand.” They do this because the imperative comes between the protasis (v. 13) and the apodosis (v. 15) and does not appear to be clearly part of the protasis. The idea is close to the MT, but the MT is much more forceful – if you find sin in your hand, get rid of it.
[55:6] 16 tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.
[55:7] 17 tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.
[55:7] 18 tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.
[55:7] 19 tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”
[55:7] 20 tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.
[55:7] 21 sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.
[14:1] 22 tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”
[14:2] 23 tn Heb “Take words with you and return to the
[14:2] 24 tn The word order כָּל־תִּשָּׂא עָוֹן (kol-tisa’ ’avon) is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest rearranging the word order: תִּשָּׂא כָּל־עוֹן (“Forgive all [our] iniquity!”). However, Gesenius suggests that כָּל (“all”) does not function as the construct in the genitive phrase כָּל־עוֹן (“all [our] iniquity”); it functions adverbially modifying the verb תִּשָּׂא (“Completely forgive!”; see GKC 415 §128.e).
[14:2] 25 sn The repetition of the root לָקַח (laqakh) creates a striking wordplay in 14:2. If Israel will bring (לָקַח) its confession to God, he will accept (לָקַח) repentant Israel and completely forgive its sin.
[14:2] 26 tn Heb “and accept [our] speech.” The word טוֹב (tov) is often confused with the common homonymic root I טוֹב (tov, “good”; BDB 373 s.v. I טוֹב). However, this is probably IV טוֹב (tov, “word, speech”; HALOT 372 s.v. IV טוֹב), a hapax legomenon that is related to the verb טבב (“to speak”; HALOT 367 s.v. טבב) and the noun טִבָּה (tibbah, “rumor”; HALOT 367 s.v. טִבָּה). The term טוֹב (“word; speech”) refers to the repentant prayer mentioned in 14:1-3. Most translations relate it to I טוֹב and treat it as (1) accusative direct object: “accept that which is good” (RSV, NJPS), “Accept our good sacrifices” (CEV), or (2) adverbial accusative of manner: “receive [us] graciously” (KJV, NASB, NIV). Note TEV, however, which follows the suggestion made here: “accept our prayer.”
[14:2] 27 tc The MT reads פָרִים (farim, “bulls”), but the LXX reflects פְּרִי (pÿri, “fruit”), a reading followed by NASB, NIV, NRSV: “that we may offer the fruit of [our] lips [as sacrifices to you].” Although the Greek expression in Heb 13:15 (καρπὸν χειλέων, karpon xeilewn, “the fruit of lips”) reflects this LXX phrase, the MT makes good sense as it stands; NT usage of the LXX should not be considered decisive in resolving OT textual problems. The noun פָרִים (parim, “bulls”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state.
[1:3] 28 tn Heb “to them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:3] 29 sn The epithet
[1:3] 30 tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv) is common in covenant contexts. To turn from the
[26:20] 31 tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”
[26:20] 32 sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.
[26:20] 33 tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.
