8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, 1
nor does he grasp the hand 2
of the evildoers.
20:4 “Surely you know 3 that it has been from old,
ever since humankind was placed 4 on the earth,
22:26 Surely then you will delight yourself 5 in the Almighty,
and will lift up your face toward God.
27:2 “As surely as God lives, 6 who has denied me justice, 7
the Almighty, who has made my life bitter 8 –
30:24 “Surely one does not stretch out his hand
against a broken man 9
when he cries for help in his distress. 10
31:36 Surely 11 I would wear it proudly 12 on my shoulder,
I would bind 13 it on me like a crown;
35:13 Surely it is an empty cry 14 – God does not hear it;
the Almighty does not take notice of it.
37:20 Should he be informed that I want 15 to speak?
If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!
1 sn This is the description that the book gave to Job at the outset, a description that he deserved according to God’s revelation. The theme “God will not reject the blameless man” becomes Job’s main point (see 9:20,21; 10:3).
2 sn The idiom “to grasp the hand” of someone means to support or help the person.
3 tn The MT has “Do you not know?” The question can be interpreted as a rhetorical question affirming that Job must know this. The question serves to express the conviction that the contents are well-known to the audience (see GKC 474 §150.e).
4 tn Heb “from the putting of man on earth.” The infinitive is the object of the preposition, which is here temporal. If “man” is taken as the subjective genitive, then the verb would be given a passive translation. Here “man” is a generic, referring to “mankind” or “the human race.”
5 tc This is the same verb as in Ps 37:4. G. R. Driver suggests the word comes from another root that means “abandon oneself to, depend on” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 84).
6 tn The expression חַי־אֵל (khay-’el) is the oath formula: “as God lives.” In other words, the speaker is staking God’s life on the credibility of the words. It is like saying, “As truly as God is alive.”
7 tn “My judgment” would here, as before, be “my right.” God has taken this away by afflicting Job unjustly (A. B. Davidson, Job, 187).
8 tn The verb הֵמַר (hemar) is the Hiphil perfect from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”) and hence, “to make bitter.” The object of the verb is “my soul,” which is better translated as “me” or “my life.”
9 tc Here is another very difficult verse, as is attested by the differences among commentaries and translations. The MT has “surely not against a ruinous heap will he [God] put forth his [God’s] hand.” But A. B. Davidson takes Job as the subject, reading “does not one stretch out his hand in his fall?” The RSV suggests a man walking in the ruins and using his hand for support. Dillmann changed it to “drowning man” to say “does not a drowning man stretch out his hand?” Beer has “have I not given a helping hand to the poor?” Dhorme has, “I did not strike the poor man with my hand.” Kissane follows this but retains the verb form, “one does not strike the poor man with his hand.”
10 tc The second colon is also difficult; it reads, “if in his destruction to them he cries.” E. Dhorme (Job, 425-26) explains how he thinks “to them” came about, and he restores “to me.” This is the major difficulty in the line, and Dhorme’s suggestion is the simplest resolution.
11 tn The clause begins with the positive oath formula, אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’).
12 tn The word “proudly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied (note the following line).
13 tn This verb is only found in Prov 6:21. But E. Dhorme (Job, 470) suggests that (with metathesis) we have a derivative מַעֲדַנּוֹת (ma’adannot, “bonds; ties”) in 38:31.
14 tn Heb “surely – vanity, he does not hear.” The cry is an empty cry, not a prayer to God. Dhorme translates it, “It is a pure waste of words.”
15 tn This imperfect works well as a desiderative imperfect.