Job 4:3

Look, ¹  you have instructed ²  many; you have strengthened ³  feeble hands. ⁴ 

Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands.

"Behold you have admonished many, And you have strengthened weak hands.

"In the past you have encouraged many a troubled soul to trust in God; you have supported those who were weak.

You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit.

Truly, you have been a helper to others, and you have made feeble hands strong;

See, you have instructed many; you have strengthened the weak hands.

Surely you have instructed many, And you have strengthened weak hands.

Look, ¹  you have instructed ²  many; you have strengthened ³  feeble hands. ⁴ 

¹ tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) summons attention; it has the sense of “consider, look.”

² tn The verb יָסַר (yasar) in the Piel means “to correct,” whether by words with the sense of teach, or by chastening with the sense of punish, discipline. The double meaning of “teach” and “discipline” is also found with the noun מוּסָר (musar).

³ tn The parallelism again uses a perfect verb in the first colon and an imperfect in the second; but since the sense of the line is clearly what Job has done in the past, the second verb may be treated as a preterite, or a customary imperfect – what Job repeatedly did in the past (GKC 315 §107.e). The words in this verse may have double meanings. The word יָסַר (yasar, “teach, discipline”) may have the idea of instruction and correction, but also the connotation of strength (see Y. Hoffmann, “The Use of Equivocal Words in the First Speech of Eliphaz [Job IV–V],” VT 30 [1980]: 114-19).

⁴ tn The “feeble hands” are literally “hands hanging down.” This is a sign of weakness, helplessness, or despondency (see 2 Sam 4:1; Isa 13:7).