14:19 as water wears away stones,
and torrents 1 wash away the soil, 2
so you destroy man’s hope. 3
38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over 4 the water jars of heaven,
1 tn Heb “the overflowings of it”; the word סְפִיחֶיהָ (sÿfikheyha) in the text is changed by just about everyone. The idea of “its overflowings” or more properly “its aftergrowths” (Lev 25:5; 2 Kgs 19:29; etc.) does not fit here at all. Budde suggested reading סְחִפָה (sÿkhifah), which is cognate to Arabic sahifeh, “torrential rain, rainstorm” – that which sweeps away” the soil. The word סָחַף (sakhaf) in Hebrew might have a wider usage than the effects of rain.
2 tn Heb “[the] dust of [the] earth.”
3 sn The meaning for Job is that death shatters all of man’s hopes for the continuation of life.
4 tn The word actually means “to cause to lie down.”