2:6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, 1 he is 2 in your power; 3 only preserve 4 his life.”
5:12 He frustrates 5 the plans 6 of the crafty 7
so that 8 their hands cannot accomplish
what they had planned! 9
5:15 So he saves 10 from the sword that comes from their mouth, 11
even 12 the poor from the hand of the powerful.
5:17 “Therefore, 13 blessed 14 is the man whom God corrects, 15
so do not despise the discipline 16 of the Almighty. 17
5:27 Look, we have investigated this, so it is true.
Hear it, 18 and apply it for your own 19 good.” 20
7:17 “What is mankind 21 that you make so much of them, 22
and that you pay attention 23 to them?
9:34 who 24 would take his 25 rod 26 away from me
so that his terror 27 would not make me afraid.
13:13 “Refrain from talking 28 with me so that 29 I may speak;
then let come to me 30 what may. 31
14:19 as water wears away stones,
and torrents 32 wash away the soil, 33
so you destroy man’s hope. 34
21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!
We do not want to 35 know your ways. 36
21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?
Nothing is left of your answers but deception!” 37
24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar
and reduce my words to nothing?” 38
27:19 He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. 39
When he opens his eyes, it is all gone. 40
31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth, 41
V. The Speeches of Elihu (32:1-37:24)
Elihu’s First Speech 4232:1 So these three men refused to answer 43 Job further, because he was righteous in his 44 own eyes.
32:14 Job 45 has not directed 46 his words to me,
and so I will not reply to him with your arguments. 47
34:32 Teach me what I cannot see. 48
If I have done evil, I will do so no more.’
36:19 Would your wealth 49 sustain you,
so that you would not be in distress, 50
even all your mighty efforts? 51
40:8 Would you indeed annul 52 my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
41:4 Will it make a pact 53 with you,
so you could take it 54 as your slave for life?
1 tn The particle הִנּוֹ (hinno) is literally, “here he is!” God presents Job to Satan, with the restriction on preserving Job’s life.
2 tn The LXX has “I deliver him up to you.”
3 tn Heb “hand.”
4 sn The irony of the passage comes through with this choice of words. The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to keep; to guard; to preserve.” The exceptive clause casts Satan in the role of a savior – he cannot destroy this life but must protect it.
5 tn The Hiphil form מֵפֵר (mefer) is the participle from פָּרַר (parar, “to annul; to frustrate; to break”). It continues the doxological descriptions of God; but because of the numerous verses in this section, it may be clearer to start a new sentence with this form (rather than translating it “who…”).
6 tn The word is related to the verb “to think; to plan; to devise,” and so can mean “thoughts; plans; imagination.” Here it refers to the plan of the crafty that must be frustrated (see also Isa 44:25 for the contrast).
7 tn The word עֲרוּמִים (’arumim) means “crafty” or “shrewd.” It describes the shrewdness of some to achieve their ends (see Gen 3:1, where the serpent is more cunning than all the creatures, that is, he knows where the dangers are and will attempt to bring down the innocent). In the next verse it describes the clever plans of the wise – those who are wise in their own sight.
8 tn The consecutive clause showing result or purpose is simply introduced with the vav and the imperfect/jussive (see GKC 504-5 §166.a).
9 tn The word תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) is a technical word from wisdom literature. It has either the idea of the faculty of foresight, or of prudence in general (see 12:6; 26:3). It can be parallel in the texts to “wisdom,” “counsel,” “help,” or “strength.” Here it refers to what has been planned ahead of time.
10 tn The verb, the Hiphil preterite of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “and he saves”) indicates that by frustrating the plans of the wicked God saves the poor. So the vav (ו) consecutive shows the result in the sequence of the verses.
11 tn The juxtaposition of “from the sword from their mouth” poses translation difficulties. Some
12 tn If the word “poor” is to do double duty, i.e., serving as the object of the verb “saves” in the first colon as well as the second, then the conjunction should be explanatory.
13 tn The particle “therefore” links this section to the preceding; it points this out as the logical consequence of the previous discussion, and more generally, as the essence of Job’s suffering.
14 tn The word אַשְׁרֵי (’ashre, “blessed”) is often rendered “happy.” But “happy” relates to what happens. “Blessed” is a reference to the heavenly bliss of the one who is right with God.
15 tn The construction is an implied relative clause. The literal rendering would simply be “the man God corrects him.” The suffix on the verb is a resumptive pronoun, completing the use of the relative clause. The verb יָכַח (yakhakh) is a legal term; it always has some sense of a charge, dispute, or conflict. Its usages show that it may describe a strife breaking out, a charge or quarrel in progress, or the settling of a dispute (Isa 1:18). The derived noun can mean “reproach; recrimination; charge” (13:6; 23:4). Here the emphasis is on the consequence of the charge brought, namely, the correction.
16 tn The noun מוּסַר (musar) is parallel to the idea of the first colon. It means “discipline, correction” (from יָסַר, yasar). Prov 3:11 says almost the same thing as this line.
17 sn The name Shaddai occurs 31 times in the book. This is its first occurrence. It is often rendered “Almighty” because of the LXX and some of the early fathers. The etymology and meaning of the word otherwise remains uncertain, in spite of attempts to connect it to “mountains” or “breasts.”
18 tn To make a better parallelism, some commentators have replaced the imperative with another finite verb, “we have found it.”
19 tn The preposition with the suffix (referred to as the ethical dative) strengthens the imperative. An emphatic personal pronoun also precedes the imperative. The resulting force would be something like “and you had better apply it for your own good!”
20 sn With this the speech by Eliphaz comes to a close. His two mistakes with it are: (1) that the tone was too cold and (2) the argument did not fit Job’s case (see further, A. B. Davidson, Job, 42).
21 tn The verse is a rhetorical question; it is intended to mean that man is too little for God to be making so much over him in all this.
22 tn The Piel verb is a factitive meaning “to magnify.” The English word “magnify” might not be the best translation here, for God, according to Job, is focusing inordinately on him. It means to magnify in thought, appreciate, think highly of. God, Job argues, is making too much of mankind by devoting so much bad attention on them.
23 tn The expression “set your heart on” means “concentrate your mind on” or “pay attention to.”
24 tn The verse probably continues the description from the last verse, and so a relative pronoun may be supplied here as well.
25 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.
26 sn The “rod” is a symbol of the power of God to decree whatever judgments and afflictions fall upon people.
27 tn “His terror” is metonymical; it refers to the awesome majesty of God that overwhelms Job and causes him to be afraid.
28 tn The Hebrew has a pregnant construction: “be silent from me,” meaning “stand away from me in silence,” or “refrain from talking with me.” See GKC 384 §119.ff. The LXX omits “from me,” as do several commentators.
29 tn The verb is the Piel cohortative; following the imperative of the first colon this verb would show purpose or result. The inclusion of the independent personal pronoun makes the focus emphatic – “so that I (in my turn) may speak.”
30 tn The verb עָבַר (’avar, “pass over”) is used with the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) to express the advent of misfortune, namely, something coming against him.
31 tn The interrogative pronoun מָה (mah) is used in indirect questions, here introducing a clause [with the verb understood] as the object – “whatever it be” (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).
32 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.
33 tn Heb “[the] dust of [the] earth.”
34 sn The meaning for Job is that death shatters all of man’s hopes for the continuation of life.
35 tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”
36 sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.
37 tn The word מָעַל (ma’al) is used for “treachery; deception; fraud.” Here Job is saying that their way of interpreting reality is dangerously unfaithful.
38 tn The word אַל (’al, “not”) is used here substantivally (“nothing”).
39 tc The verb is the Niphal יֵאָסֵף (ye’asef), from אָסַף (’asaf, “to gather”). So, “he lies down rich, but he is not gathered.” This does not make much sense. It would mean “he will not be gathered for burial,” but that does not belong here. Many commentators accept the variant יֹאסִף (yo’sif) stood for יוֹסִיף (yosif, “will [not] add”). This is what the LXX and the Syriac have. This leads to the interpretive translation that “he will do so no longer.”
40 tn Heb “and he is not.” One view is that this must mean that he dies, not that his wealth is gone. R. Gordis (Job, 295) says the first part should be made impersonal: “when one opens one’s eyes, the wicked is no longer there.” E. Dhorme (Job, 396) has it more simply: “He has opened his eyes, and it is for the last time.” But the other view is that the wealth goes overnight. In support of this is the introduction into the verse of the wealthy. The RSV, NRSV, ESV, and NLT take it that “wealth is gone.”
41 tn Heb “and my hand kissed my mouth.” The idea should be that of “my mouth kissed my hand.” H. H. Rowley suggests that the hand was important in waving or throwing the kisses of homage to the sun and the moon, and so it receives the focus. This is the only place in the OT that refers to such a custom. Outside the Bible it was known, however.
42 sn There are now four speeches from another friend of Job, Elihu. But Job does not reply to any of these, nor does the
43 tn The form is the infinitive construct (“answer”) functioning as the object of the preposition; the phrase forms the complement of the verb “they ceased to answer” (= “they refused to answer further”).
44 tc The LXX, Syriac, and Symmachus have “in their eyes.” This is adopted by some commentators, but it does not fit the argument.
45 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
46 tn The verb עַרַךְ (’arakh) means “to arrange in order; to set forth; to direct; to marshal.” It is used in military contexts for setting the battle array; it is used in legal settings for preparing the briefs.
47 tn Heb “your words.”
48 tn Heb “what I do not see,” more specifically, “apart from [that which] I see.”
49 tn The form in the MT is “your cry (for help).” See J. E. Hartley (Job [NICOT], 472-73) and E. Dhorme (Job, 547-48) on the difficulties.
50 tn This part has only two words לֹא בְצָר (lo’ bÿtsar, “not in distress”). The negated phrase serves to explain the first colon.
51 tc For the many suggestions and the reasoning here, see the commentaries.
52 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.
53 tn Heb “will he cut a covenant.”
54 tn The imperfect verb serves to express what the covenant pact would cover, namely, “that you take.”