Job 10:1-2

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Job 10:1 tn The Hebrew has נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), usually rendered “my soul.”
2. Job 10:1 tn The verb is pointed like a Qal form but is originally a Niphal from קוּט (qut). Some wish to connect the word to Akkadian cognates for a meaning “I am in anguish,” but the meaning “I am weary” fits the passage well.
3. Job 10:1 tn The verb עָזַב (ʿazav) means “to abandon.” It may have an extended meaning of “to let go” or “to let slip.” But the expression “abandon to myself” means to abandon all restraint and give free course to the complaint.
4. Job 10:2 tn The negated jussive is the Hiphil jussive of רָשַׁע (rashaʿ); its meaning then would be literally “do not declare me guilty.” The negated jussive stresses the immediacy of the request.
5. Job 10:2 tn The Hiphil imperative of יָדַע (yadaʿ) would more literally be “cause me to know.” It is a plea for God to help him understand the afflictions.
6. Job 10:2 tn The verb is רִיב (riv), meaning “to dispute; to contend; to strive; to quarrel”—often in the legal sense. The precise words chosen in this verse show that the setting is legal. The imperfect verb here is progressive, expressing what is currently going on.