4:8 Even as I have seen, 1 those who plow 2 iniquity 3
and those who sow trouble reap the same. 4
5:6 For evil does not come up from the dust, 5
nor does trouble spring up from the ground,
19:28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him,
since the root of the trouble is found in him!’ 6
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 sn The previous discussion shows how trouble rises, namely, from the rebelliousness of the fool. Here Eliphaz simply summarizes the points made with this general principle – trouble does not come from outside man, nor does it come as a part of the natural order, but rather it comes from the evil nature of man.
6 tc The MT reads “in me.” If that is retained, then the question would be in the first colon, and the reasoning of the second colon would be Job’s. But over 100