Job 23:10
Context23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take; 1
if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. 2
Job 28:15-16
Context28:15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
28:16 It cannot be measured out for purchase 3 with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx 4 or sapphires.
1 tn The expression דֶּרֶךְ עִמָּדִי (derekh ’immadi) means “the way with me,” i.e., “the way that I take.” The Syriac has “my way and my standing.” Several commentators prefer “the way of my standing,” meaning where to look for me. J. Reider offers “the way of my life” (“Some notes to the text of the scriptures,” HUCA 3 [1926]: 115). Whatever the precise wording, Job knows that God can always find him.
2 tn There is a perfect verb followed by an imperfect in this clause with the protasis and apodosis relationship (see GKC 493 §159.b).
3 tn The word actually means “weighed,” that is, lifted up on the scale and weighed, in order to purchase.
4 tn The exact identification of these stones is uncertain. Many recent English translations, however, have “onyx” and “sapphires.”