Job 8:3

Does God pervert ¹  justice? ²  Or does the Almighty pervert ³  what is right?

Ge 18:25; De 32:4; 2Ch 19:7; Job 4:17; Job 9:2; Job 10:3; Job 19:7; Job 21:15,20; Job 34:5,12,17-19; Job 34:10-12; Job 35:13; Job 40:2; Job 40:8; Ps 89:14; Ps 99:4; Eze 18:25; Eze 33:17,20; Da 9:14; Ro 2:5; Ro 3:4-6; Re 15:3; Re 16:7

¹ tn The Piel verb יְעַוֵּת (yÿ’avvet) means “to bend; to cause to swerve from the norm; to deviate; to pervert.” The LXX renders the first colon as “will the Lord be unjust when he judges?”

² tn The first word is מִשְׁפָּת (mishpat, “justice”). It can mean an act of judgment, place of judgment, or what is just, that is, the outcome of the decision. It basically describes an umpire’s decision. The parallel word is צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “righteousness,” or “what is right”). The basic idea here is that which conforms to the standard, what is right. See S. H. Scholnick, “The Meaning of Mishpat in the Book of Job,” JBL 101 (1982): 521-29.

³ tn Some commentators think that the second verb should be changed in order to avoid the repetition of the same word and to reflect the different words in the versions. The suggestion is to read יְעַוֵּה (yÿ’avveh) instead; this would mean “to cause someone to deviate,” for the root means “to bend.” The change is completely unwarranted; the LXX probably chose different words for stylistic reasons (see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 198). The repetition in the Hebrew text is a common type; it strengthens the enormity of the charge Job seems to be making.