20:25 When he pulls it out 1 and it comes out of his back,
the gleaming point 2 out of his liver,
terrors come over him.
29:2 “O that I could be 3 as 4 I was
in the months now gone, 5
in the days 6 when God watched 7 over me,
37:12 The clouds 8 go round in circles,
wheeling about according to his plans,
to carry out 9 all that he commands them
over the face of the whole inhabited world.
40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy 10 – how could I reply to you?
I put 11 my hand over my mouth to silence myself. 12
1 tn The MT has “he draws out [or as a passive, “it is drawn out/forth”] and comes [or goes] out of his back.” For the first verb שָׁלַף (shalaf, “pull, draw”), many commentators follow the LXX and use שֶׁלַח (shelakh, “a spear”). It then reads “and a shaft comes out of his back,” a sword flash comes out of his liver.” But the verse could also be a continuation of the preceding.
2 tn Possibly a reference to lightnings.
3 tn The optative is here expressed with מִי־יִתְּנֵנִי (mi-yittÿneni, “who will give me”), meaning, “O that I [could be]…” (see GKC 477 §151.b).
4 tn The preposition כּ (kaf) is used here in an expression describing the state desired, especially in the former time (see GKC 376 §118.u).
5 tn The expression is literally “months of before [or of old; or past].” The word קֶדֶם (qedem) is intended here to be temporal and not spatial; it means days that preceded the present.
6 tn The construct state (“days of”) governs the independent sentence that follows (see GKC 422 §130.d): “as the days of […] God used to watch over me.”
7 tn The imperfect verb here has a customary nuance – “when God would watch over me” (back then), or “when God used to watch over me.”
8 tn The words “the clouds” are supplied from v. 11; the sentence itself actually starts: “and it goes round,” referring to the cloud.
9 tn Heb “that it may do.”
10 tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.
11 tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.
12 tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.