4:8 Even as I have seen, 1 those who plow 2 iniquity 3
and those who sow trouble reap the same. 4
10:14 If I sinned, then you would watch me
and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.
11:14 if 5 iniquity is in your hand – put it far away, 6
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
31:28 then this 7 also would be iniquity to be judged, 8
for I would have been false 9 to God above.
1 tn The perfect verb here represents the indefinite past. It has no specific sighting in mind, but refers to each time he has seen the wicked do this.
2 sn The figure is an implied metaphor. Plowing suggests the idea of deliberately preparing (or cultivating) life for evil. This describes those who are fundamentally wicked.
3 tn The LXX renders this with a plural “barren places.”
4 tn Heb “reap it.”
5 tn Verse 14 should be taken as a parenthesis and not a continuation of the protasis, because it does not fit with v. 13 in that way (D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 256).
6 tn Many commentators follow the Vulgate and read the line “if you put away the sin that is in your hand.” They do this because the imperative comes between the protasis (v. 13) and the apodosis (v. 15) and does not appear to be clearly part of the protasis. The idea is close to the MT, but the MT is much more forceful – if you find sin in your hand, get rid of it.
7 tn Heb “it.”
8 tn See v. 11 for the construction. In Deut 17:2ff. false worship of heavenly bodies is a capital offense. In this passage, Job is talking about just a momentary glance at the sun or moon and the brief lapse into a pagan thought. But it is still sin.
9 tn The verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the Piel means “to deny.” The root meaning is “to deceive; to disappoint; to grow lean.” Here it means that he would have failed or proven unfaithful because his act would have been a denial of God.