14:3 Do you fix your eye 1 on such a one? 2
And do you bring me 3 before you for judgment?
22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; 4
if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,
22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows to him. 5
30:20 I cry out to you, 6 but you do not answer me;
I stand up, 7 and you only look at me. 8
40:8 Would you indeed annul 9 my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
41:8 If you lay your hand on it,
you will remember 10 the fight,
and you will never do it again!
42:4 You said, 11
‘Pay attention, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
1 tn Heb “open the eye on,” an idiom meaning to prepare to judge someone.
2 tn The verse opens with אַף־עַל־זֶה (’af-’al-zeh), meaning “even on such a one!” It is an exclamation of surprise.
3 tn The text clearly has “me” as the accusative; but many wish to emend it to say “him” (אֹתוֹ, ’oto). But D. J. A. Clines rightly rejects this in view of the way Job is written, often moving back and forth from his own tragedy and others’ tragedies (Job [WBC], 283).
4 tc The MT has “you will be built up” (תִּבָּנֶה, tibbaneh). But the LXX has “humble yourself” (reading תְּעַנֶּה [tÿ’anneh] apparently). Many commentators read this; Dahood has “you will be healed.”
5 tn The words “to him” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
6 sn The implication from the sentence is that this is a cry to God for help. The sudden change from third person (v. 19) to second person (v. 20) is indicative of the intense emotion of the sufferer.
7 sn The verb is simple, but the interpretation difficult. In this verse it probably means he stands up in prayer (Jer 15:1), but it could mean that he makes his case to God. Others suggest a more figurative sense, like the English expression “stand pat,” meaning “remain silent” (see Job 29:8).
8 tn If the idea of prayer is meant, then a pejorative sense to the verb is required. Some supply a negative and translate “you do not pay heed to me.” This is supported by one Hebrew
9 tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to annul; to break; to frustrate.” It was one thing for Job to claim his own integrity, but it was another matter altogether to nullify God’s righteousness in the process.
10 tn The verse uses two imperatives which can be interpreted in sequence: do this, and then this will happen.
11 tn This phrase, “you said,” is supplied in the translation to introduce the recollection of God’s words.