Job 9:34-35

9:34 who ¹  would take his ²  rod ³  away from me

so that his terror ⁴  would not make me afraid.

9:35 Then ⁵  would I speak and not fear him,

but it is not so with me. ⁶ 

Job 13:3

13:3 But I wish to speak ⁷  to the Almighty, ⁸ 

and I desire to argue ⁹  my case ¹⁰  with God.

Job 13:22

13:22 Then call, ¹¹  and I will answer,

or I will speak, and you respond to me.

Job 23:3-7

23:3 O that I knew ¹²  where I might find him, ¹³ 

that I could come ¹⁴  to his place of residence! ¹⁵ 

23:4 I would lay out my case ¹⁶  before him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

23:5 I would know with what words ¹⁷  he would answer me,

and understand what he would say to me.

23:6 Would he contend ¹⁸  with me with great power?

No, he would only pay attention to me. ¹⁹ 

23:7 There ²⁰  an upright person

could present his case ²¹  before him,

and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

Job 31:35

Job’s Appeal

31:35 “If only I had ²²  someone to hear me!

Here is my signature – ²³ 

let the Almighty answer me!

If only I had an indictment ²⁴ 

that my accuser had written. ²⁵ 

Job 40:1-5

Job’s Reply to God’s Challenge

40:1 Then the Lord answered Job:

40:2 “Will the one who contends ²⁶  with the Almighty correct him? ²⁷ 

Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”

40:3 Then Job answered the Lord:

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ²⁸  – how could I reply to you?

I put ²⁹  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ³⁰ 

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ³¹ 

Ecclesiastes 6:10

The Futile Way Life Works

6:10 Whatever has happened was foreordained, ³² 

and what happens to a person ³³  was also foreknown.

It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate

because God is more powerful than he is. ³⁴ 

Isaiah 45:9

The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ³⁵ 

one who is like a mere ³⁶  shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter, ³⁷ 

“What in the world ³⁸  are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!” ³⁹ 

Romans 9:20

9:20 But who indeed are you – a mere human being ⁴⁰  – to talk back to God? ⁴¹  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ⁴² 

[9:34]  ¹ tn The verse probably continues the description from the last verse, and so a relative pronoun may be supplied here as well.

[9:34]  ² tn According to some, the reference of this suffix would be to God. The arbiter would remove the rod of God from Job. But others take it as a separate sentence with God removing his rod.

[9:34]  ³ sn The “rod” is a symbol of the power of God to decree whatever judgments and afflictions fall upon people.

[9:34]  ⁴ tn “His terror” is metonymical; it refers to the awesome majesty of God that overwhelms Job and causes him to be afraid.

[9:35]  ⁵ tn There is no conjunction with this cohortative; but the implication from the context is that if God’s rod were withdrawn, if the terror were removed, then Job would speak up without fear.

[9:35]  ⁶ tn The last half of the verse is rather cryptic: “but not so I with me.” NIV renders it “but as it now stands with me, I cannot.” This is very smooth and interpretive. Others transpose the two halves of the verse to read, “Since it is not so, I with myself // will commune and not fear him.” Job would be saying that since he cannot contend with God on equal terms, and since there is no arbiter, he will come on his own terms. English versions have handled this differently: “for I know I am not what I am thought to be” (NEB); “since this is not the case with me” (NAB); “I do not see myself like that at all” (JB).

[13:3]  ⁷ tn The verb is simply the Piel imperfect אֲדַבֵּר (’adabber, “I speak”). It should be classified as a desiderative imperfect, saying, “I desire to speak.” This is reinforced with the verb “to wish, desire” in the second half of the verse.

[13:3]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew title for God here is אֶל־שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”).

[13:3]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute functions here as the direct object of the verb “desire” (see GKC 340 §113.b).

[13:3]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh) is from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh), which means “to argue, plead, debate.” It has the legal sense here of arguing a case (cf. 5:17).

[13:22]  ¹¹ tn The imperatives in the verse function like the future tense in view of their use for instruction or advice. The chiastic arrangement of the verb forms is interesting: imperative + imperfect, imperfect + imperative. The imperative is used for God, but the imperfect is used when Job is the subject. Job is calling for the court to convene – he will be either the defendant or the prosecutor.

[23:3]  ¹² tn The optative here is again expressed with the verbal clause, “who will give [that] I knew….”

[23:3]  ¹³ tn The form in Hebrew is וְאֶמְצָאֵהוּ (vÿ’emtsa’ehu), simply “and I will find him.” But in the optative clause this verb is subordinated to the preceding verb: “O that I knew where [and] I might find him.” It is not unusual to have the perfect verb followed by the imperfect in such coordinate clauses (see GKC 386 §120.e). This could also be translated making the second verb a complementary infinitive: “knew how to find him.”

[23:3]  ¹⁴ tn This verb also depends on מִי־יִתֵּן (mi-yitten, “who will give”) of the first part, forming an additional clause in the wish formula.

[23:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “his place of judgment.” The word is from כּוּן (kun, “to prepare; to arrange”) in the Polel and the Hiphil conjugations. The noun refers to a prepared place, a throne, a seat, or a sanctuary. A. B. Davidson (Job, 169) and others take the word to mean “judgment seat” or “tribunal” in this context.

[23:4]  ¹⁶ tn The word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) is normally “judgment; decision.” But in these contexts it refers to the legal case that Job will bring before God. With the verb עָרַךְ (’arakh, “to set in order; to lay out”) the whole image of drawing up a lawsuit is complete.

[23:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the words he would answer me.”

[23:6]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is now רִיב (riv) and not יָכַח (yakhakh, “contend”); רִיב (riv) means “to quarrel; to dispute; to contend,” often in a legal context. Here it is still part of Job’s questioning about this hypothetical meeting – would God contend with all his power?

[23:6]  ¹⁹ tn The verbal clause יָשִׂם בִּי (yasim bi) has been translated “he would pay [attention] to me.” Job is saying that God will not need all his power – he will just have pay attention to Job’s complaint. Job does not need the display of power – he just wants a hearing.

[23:7]  ²⁰ tn The adverb “there” has the sense of “then” – there in the future.

[23:7]  ²¹ tn The form of the verb is the Niphal נוֹכָח (nokkakh, “argue, present a case”). E. Dhorme (Job, 346) is troubled by this verbal form and so changes it and other things in the line to say, “he would observe the upright man who argues with him.” The Niphal is used for “engaging discussion,” “arguing a case,” and “settling a dispute.”

[31:35]  ²² tn The optative is again introduced with “who will give to me hearing me? – O that someone would listen to me!”

[31:35]  ²³ tn Heb “here is my ‘tav’” (הֵן תָּוִי, hen tavi). The letter ת (tav) is the last letter of the alphabet in Hebrew. In paleo-Hebrew the letter was in the form of a cross or an “X,” and so used for one making a mark or a signature. In this case Job has signed his statement and delivered it to the court – but he has yet to be charged. Kissane thought that this being the last letter of the alphabet, Job was saying, “This is my last word.” Others take the word to mean “desire” – “this is my desire, that God would answer me” (see E. F. Sutcliffe, “Notes on Job, textual and exegetical,” Bib 30 [1949]: 71-72; G. R. Driver, AJSL 3 [1935/36]: 166; P. P. Saydon, “Philological and Textual Notes to the Maltese Translation of the Old Testament,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 252). R. Gordis (Job, 355) also argues strongly for this view.

[31:35]  ²⁴ tn Heb “a scroll,” in the context referring to a scroll containing the accusations of Job’s legal adversary (see the next line).

[31:35]  ²⁵ tn The last line is very difficult; it simply says, “a scroll [that] my [legal] adversary had written.” The simplest way to handle this is to see it as a continuation of the optative (RSV).

[40:2]  ²⁶ tn The form רֹב (rov) is the infinitive absolute from the verb רִיב (riv, “contend”). Dhorme wishes to repoint it to make it the active participle, the “one who argues with the Almighty.”

[40:2]  ²⁷ tn The verb יִסּוֹר (yissor) is found only here, but comes from a common root meaning “to correct; to reprove.” Several suggestions have been made to improve on the MT. Dhorme read it יָסוּר (yasur) in the sense of “to turn aside; to yield.” Ehrlich read this emendation as “to come to an end.” But the MT could be read as “to correct; to instruct.”

[40:4]  ²⁸ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ²⁹ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ³⁰ tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “I will not add.”

[6:10]  ³² tn Heb “already its name was called.”

[6:10]  ³³ tn Or “and what a person (Heb “man”) is was foreknown.”

[6:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “he cannot contend with the one who is more powerful than him.” The referent of the “the one who is more powerful than he is” (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The words “with God about his fate” have been added for clarity as well.

[45:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”

[45:9]  ³⁶ tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[45:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”

[45:9]  ³⁸ tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.

[45:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”

[9:20]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “O man.”

[9:20]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

[9:20]  ⁴² sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.