Job 9:31

9:31 then you plunge me into a slimy pit ¹ 

and my own clothes abhor me.

Psalms 69:1-2

Psalm 69 ² 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ³  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ⁴ 

69:2 I sink into the deep mire

where there is no solid ground; ⁵ 

I am in ⁶  deep water,

and the current overpowers me.

Jeremiah 38:6

38:6 So the officials ⁷  took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern ⁸  of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, ⁹  that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud. ¹⁰ 

[9:31]  ¹ tn The pointing in the MT gives the meaning “pit” or “ditch.” A number of expositors change the pointing to שֻׁחוֹת (shukhot) to obtain the equivalent of שֻׂחוֹת (sukhot) / סֻחוֹת (sukhot): “filth” (Isa 5:25). This would make the contrast vivid – Job has just washed with pure water and soap, and now God plunges him into filth. M. H. Pope argues convincingly that the word “pit” in the MT includes the idea of “filth,” making the emendation unnecessary (“The Word sahat in Job 9:31,” JBL 83 [1964]: 269-78).

[69:1]  ² sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ³ tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

[69:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”

[69:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “have entered.”

[38:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “they.”

[38:6]  ⁸ sn A cistern was a pear-shaped pit with a narrow opening. Cisterns were cut or dug in the limestone rock and lined with plaster to prevent seepage. They were used to collect and store rain water or water carried up from a spring.

[38:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the son of the king.” See the translator’s note on Jer 36:26 for the rendering here.

[38:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And they let Jeremiah down with ropes and in the cistern there was no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” The clauses have been reordered and restructured to create a more natural and smoother order in English.