31:22 then 1 let my arm fall from the shoulder, 2
let my arm be broken off at the socket. 3
34:4 Let us evaluate 4 for ourselves what is right; 5
let us come to know among ourselves what is good.
1 sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.
2 tn The point is that if he has raised his arm against the oppressed it should be ripped off at the joint. The MT has “let fall my shoulder [כְּתֵפִי, kÿtefi] from the nape of the neck [or shoulder blade (מִשִּׁכְמָה, mishikhmah)].”
3 tn The word קָנֶה (qaneh) is “reed; shaft; beam,” and here “shoulder joint.” All the commentaries try to explain how “reed” became “socket; joint.” This is the only place that it is used in such a sense. Whatever the exact explanation – and there seems to be no convincing view – the point of the verse is nonetheless clear.
4 sn Elihu means “choose after careful examination.”
5 tn The word is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) again, with the sense of what is right or just.