Job 9:12-13

9:12 If he snatches away, ¹  who can turn him back? ² 

Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

9:13 God does not restrain his anger; ³ 

under him the helpers of Rahab ⁴  lie crushed. ⁵ 

Job 11:10

11:10 If he comes by ⁶  and confines ⁷  you ⁸ 

and convenes a court, ⁹ 

then who can prevent ¹⁰  him?

Isaiah 14:23

14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals ¹¹ 

and covered with pools of stagnant water.

I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” ¹² 

says the Lord who commands armies.

Jeremiah 51:58

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all ¹³  says,

“Babylon’s thick wall ¹⁴  will be completely demolished. ¹⁵ 

Her high gates will be set on fire.

The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ¹⁶ 

The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 51:64

51:64 Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments ¹⁸  I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’”

The prophecies of Jeremiah end here. ¹⁹ 

Malachi 1:4

1:4 Edom ²⁰  says, “Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places.” So the Lord who rules over all ²¹  responds, “They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as ²²  the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased.

[9:12]  ¹ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 133) surveys the usages and concludes that the verb חָתַף (khataf) normally describes the wicked actions of a man, especially by treachery or trickery against another. But a verb חָתַף (khataf) is found nowhere else; a noun “robber” is found in Prov 23:28. Dhorme sees no reason to emend the text, because he concludes that the two verbs are synonymous. Job is saying that if God acts like a plunderer, there is no one who can challenge what he does.

[9:12]  ² tn The verb is the Hiphil imperfect (potential again) from שׁוּב (shuv). In this stem it can mean “turn back, refute, repel” (BDB 999 s.v. Hiph.5).

[9:13]  ³ sn The meaning of the line is that God’s anger will continue until it has accomplished its purpose (23:13-14).

[9:13]  ⁴ sn “Rahab” is not to be confused with the harlot of the same name from Jericho. “Rahab” is identified with Tiamat of the Babylonian creation epic, or Leviathan of the Canaanite myths. It is also used in parallelism to the sea (26:12), or the Red Sea (Ps 74:13), and so comes to symbolize Egypt (Isa 30:7). In the Babylonian Creation Epic there is reference to the helpers of Tiamat. In the Bible the reference is only to the raging sea, which the Lord controlled at creation.

[9:13]  ⁵ tn The verb שָׁחַח (shakhakh) means “to be prostrate” or “to crouch.” Here the enemies are prostrate under the feet of God – they are crushed.

[11:10]  ⁶ tn The verb יַחֲלֹף (yakhalof) is literally “passes by/through” (NIV “comes along” in the sense of “if it should so happen”). Many accept the emendation to יַחְתֹּף (yakhtof, “he seizes,” cf. Gordis, Driver), but there is not much support for these.

[11:10]  ⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil of סָגַר (sagar, “to close; to shut”) and so here in this context it probably means something like “to shut in; to confine.” But this is a difficult meaning, and the sentence is cryptic. E. Dhorme (Job, 162) thinks this word and the next have to be antithetical, and so he suggests from a meaning “to keep confined” the idea of keeping a matter secret; and with the next verb, “to convene an assembly,” he offers “to divulge it.”

[11:10]  ⁸ tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation.

[11:10]  ⁹ tn The denominative Hiphil of קָהָל (qahal, “an assembly”) has the idea of “to convene an assembly.” In this context there would be the legal sense of convening a court, i.e., calling Job to account (D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 255). See E. Ullendorff, “The Meaning of QHLT,” VT 12 (1962): 215; he defines the verb also as “argue, rebuke.”

[11:10]  ¹⁰ tn The verb means “turn him back.” Zophar uses Job’s own words (see 9:12).

[14:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).

[14:23]  ¹² tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”

[51:58]  ¹³ sn See the note at Jer 2:19.

[51:58]  ¹⁴ tn The text has the plural “walls,” but many Hebrew mss read the singular “wall,” which is also supported by the ancient Greek version. The modifying adjective “thick” is singular as well.

[51:58]  ¹⁵ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”

[51:58]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for what is empty.”

[51:58]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”

[51:64]  ¹⁸ tn Or “disaster”; or “calamity.”

[51:64]  ¹⁹ sn The final chapter of the book of Jeremiah does not mention Jeremiah or record any of his prophecies.

[1:4]  ²⁰ sn Edom, a “brother” nation to Israel, became almost paradigmatic of hostility toward Israel and God (see Num 20:14-21; Deut 2:8; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obad 10-12).

[1:4]  ²¹ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Malachi (24 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:4]  ²² tn Heb “and they will call them.” The third person plural subject is indefinite; one could translate, “and people will call them.”