8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, 1
nor does he grasp the hand 2
of the evildoers.
27:13 This is the portion of the wicked man
allotted by God, 3
the inheritance that evildoers receive
from the Almighty.
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 expression “allotted by God” interprets the simple prepositional phrase in the text: “with/from God.”