12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth 1
of their understanding; 2
he makes them wander
in a trackless desert waste. 3
38:4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation 4 of the earth?
Tell me, 5 if you possess understanding!
1 tn Heb “the heads of the people of the earth.”
2 tn Heb “heart.”
3 tn The text has בְּתֹהוּ לֹא־דָרֶךְ (bÿtohu lo’ darekh): “in waste – no way,” or “in a wasteland [where there is] no way,” thus, “trackless” (see the discussion of negative attributes using לֹא [lo’] in GKC 482 §152.u).
4 tn The construction is the infinitive construct in a temporal clause, using the preposition and the subjective genitive suffix.
5 tn The verb is the imperative; it has no object “me” in the text.