30:1 “But now they mock me, those who are younger 1 than I,
whose fathers I disdained too much 2
to put with my sheep dogs. 3
42:3 you asked, 4
‘Who is this who darkens counsel
without knowledge?’
But 5 I have declared without understanding 6
things too wonderful for me to know. 7
1 tn Heb “smaller than I for days.”
2 tn Heb “who I disdained their fathers to set…,” meaning “whose fathers I disdained to set.” The relative clause modifies the young fellows who mock; it explains that Job did not think highly enough of them to put them with the dogs. The next verse will explain why.
3 sn Job is mocked by young fellows who come from low extraction. They mocked their elders and their betters. The scorn is strong here – dogs were despised as scavengers.
4 tn The expression “you asked” is added here to clarify the presence of the line to follow. Many commentators delete it as a gloss from Job 38:2. If it is retained, then Job has to be recalling God’s question before he answers it.
5 tn The word לָכֵן (lakhen) is simply “but,” as in Job 31:37.
6 tn Heb “and I do not understand.” The expression serves here in an adverbial capacity. It also could be subordinated as a complement: “I have declared [things that] I do not understand.”
7 tn The last clause is “and I do not know.” This is also subordinated to become a dependent clause.