Discovery BoxJob 10:3 
Context10:3 Is it good for you 1 to oppress, 2
to 3 despise the work of your hands,
on the schemes of the wicked?
Job 12:6
Context12:6 But 6 the tents of robbers are peaceful,
and those who provoke God are confident 7 –
who carry their god in their hands. 8
Job 31:7
Context31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,
if my heart has gone after my eyes, 9
or if anything 10 has defiled my hands,
Job 34:19
Context34:19 who shows no partiality to princes,
and does not take note of 11 the rich more than the poor,
because all of them are the work of his hands?
1 tn Or “Does it give you pleasure?” The expression could also mean, “Is it profitable for you?” or “Is it fitting for you?”
2 tn The construction uses כִּי (ki) with the imperfect verb – “that you oppress.” Technically, this clause serves as the subject, and “good” is the predicate adjective. In such cases one often uses an English infinitive to capture the point: “Is it good for you to oppress?” The LXX changes the meaning considerably: “Is it good for you if I am unrighteous, for you have disowned the work of your hands.”
3 tn Heb “that you despise.”
4 tn Now, in the second half of the verse, there is a change in the structure. The conjunction on the preposition followed by the perfect verb represents a circumstantial clause.
5 tn The Hiphil of the verb יָפַע (yafa’) means “shine.” In this context the expression “you shine upon” would mean “have a glowing expression,” be radiant, or smile.
6 tn The verse gives the other side of the coin now, the fact that the wicked prosper.
7 tn The plural is used to suggest the supreme degree of arrogant confidence (E. Dhorme, Job, 171).
8 sn The line is perhaps best understood as describing one who thinks he is invested with the power of God.
9 sn The meaning is “been led by what my eyes see.”
10 tc The word מֻאוּם (mu’um) could be taken in one of two ways. One reading is to represent מוּם (mum, “blemish,” see the Masorah); the other is for מְאוּמָה (mÿ’umah, “anything,” see the versions and the Kethib). Either reading fits the passage.
11 tn The verb means “to give recognition; to take note of” and in this passage with לִפְנֵי (lifne, “before”) it means to show preferential treatment to the rich before the poor. The word for “rich” here is an unusual word, found parallel to “noble” (Isa 32:2). P. Joüon thinks it is a term of social distinction (Bib 18 [1937]: 207-8).
