5:6 For evil does not come up from the dust, 1
nor does trouble spring up from the ground,
11:14 if 2 iniquity is in your hand – put it far away, 3
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
34:32 Teach me what I cannot see. 4
If I have done evil, I will do so no more.’
36:21 Take heed, do not turn to evil,
for because of this you have been tested 5 by affliction.
1 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.
2 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).
3 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.
4 tn Heb “what I do not see,” more specifically, “apart from [that which] I see.”
5 tn Normally “tested” would be the translation for the Niphal of בָּחַר (bakhar). Although the Qal is employed here, the context favors “tested” rather than “chose.”