17:11 My days have passed, my plans 1 are shattered,
even 2 the desires 3 of my heart.
23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me, 4
and many such things are his plans. 5
1 tn This term usually means “plans; devices” in a bad sense, although it can be used of God’s plans (see e.g., Zech 8:15).
2 tn Although not in the Hebrew text, “even” is supplied in the translation, because this line is in apposition to the preceding.
3 tn This word has been linked to the root יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to inherit”) yielding a meaning “the possessions of my heart.” But it is actually to be connected to אָרַשׁ (’arash, “to desire”) cognate to the Akkadian eresu, “desire.” The LXX has “limbs,” which may come from an Aramaic word for “ropes.” An emendation based on the LXX would be risky.
4 tn The text has “my decree,” which means “the decree [plan] for/against me.” The suffix is objective, equivalent to a dative of disadvantage. The Syriac and the Vulgate actually have “his decree.” R. Gordis (Job, 262) suggests taking it in the same sense as in Job 14:5: “my limit.”.
5 tn Heb “and many such [things] are with him.”
sn The text is saying that many similar situations are under God’s rule of the world – his plans are infinite.