Job 1:1
New English Translation
I. The Prologue (1:1-2:13)
Job’s Good Life[a]
1 [b] There was a man[c] in the land of Uz[d] whose[e] name was Job.[f] And that man was blameless[g] and upright,[h] one who feared God and turned away from evil.[i]
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- Job 1:1 sn See N. C. Habel, “The Narrative Art of Job,” JSOT 27 (1983): 101-11; J. J. Owens, “Prologue and Epilogue,” RevExp 68 (1971): 457-67; and R. Polzin, “The Framework of the Book of Job,” Int 31 (1974): 182-200.
- Job 1:1 sn The book of Job is one of the major books of wisdom literature in the Bible. But it is a different kind of wisdom. Whereas the book of Proverbs is a collection of the short wisdom sayings, Job is a thorough analysis of the relationship between suffering and divine justice put in a dramatic poetic form. There are a number of treatises on this subject in the ancient Near East, but none of them are as thorough and masterful as Job. See J. Gray, “The Book of Job in the Context of Near Eastern Literature,” ZAW 82 (1970): 251-69; S. N. Kramer, “Man and His God, A Sumerian Variation on the ‘Job’ Motif,” VTSup 3 (1953): 170-82. While the book has fascinated readers for ages, it is a difficult book, difficult to translate and difficult to study. Most of it is written in poetic parallelism. But it is often very cryptic, it is written with unusual grammatical constructions, and it makes use of a large number of very rare words. All this has led some scholars to question if it was originally written in Hebrew or some other related Semitic dialect or language first. There is no indication of who the author was. It is even possible that the work may have been refined over the years, but there is no evidence for this either. The book uses a variety of genres (laments, hymns, proverbs, and oracles) in the various speeches of the participants. This all adds to the richness of the material. And while it is a poetic drama using cycles of speeches, there is no reason to doubt that the events represented here do not go back to a real situation and preserve the various arguments. Several indications in the book would place Job’s dates in the time of the patriarchs. But the composition of the book, or at least its final form, may very well come from the first millennium, maybe in the time of the flowering of wisdom literature with Solomon. We have no way of knowing when the book was written, or when its revision was completed. But dating it late in the intertestamental period is ruled out by the appearance of translations and copies of it, notably bits of a Targum of Job in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among the general works and commentaries, see A. Hurvitz, “The Date of the Prose Tale of Job Linguistically Reconsidered,” HTR 67 (1974): 17-34; R. H. Pfeiffer, “The Priority of Job over Isaiah 40-55, ” JBL 46 (1927): 202ff. The book presents many valuable ideas on the subject of the suffering of the righteous. Ultimately it teaches that one must submit to the wisdom of the Creator. But it also indicates that the shallow answers of Job’s friends do not do justice to the issue. Their arguments that suffering is due to sin are true to a point, but they did not apply to Job. His protests sound angry and belligerent, but he held tenaciously to his integrity. His experience shows that it is possible to live a pure life and yet still suffer. He finally turns his plea to God, demanding a hearing. This he receives, of course, only to hear that God is sovereignly ruling the universe. Job can only submit to him. In the end God does not abandon his sufferer. For additional material, see G. L. Archer, The Book of Job; H. H. Rowley, “The Book of Job and Its Meaning,” BJRL 41 (1958/59): 167-207; J. A. Baker, The Book of Job; C. L. Feinberg, “The Book of Job,” BSac 91 (1934): 78-86; R. Polzin and D. Robertson, “Studies in the Book of Job,” Semeia 7 (Missoula: Scholars Press, 1977).
- Job 1:1 tn The Hebrew construction is literally “a man was,” using אִישׁ הָיָה (ʾish hayah) rather than a preterite first. This simply begins the narrative.
- Job 1:1 sn The term Uz occurs several times in the Bible: a son of Aram (Gen 10:23), a son of Nahor (Gen 22:21), and a descendant of Seir (Gen 36:28). If these are the clues to follow, the location would be north of Syria or south near Edom. The book tells how Job’s flocks were exposed to Chaldeans, the tribes between Syria and the Euphrates (1:17), and in another direction to attacks from the Sabeans (1:15). The most prominent man among his friends was from Teman, which was in Edom (2:11). Uz is also connected with Edom in Lamentations 4:21. The most plausible location, then, would be east of Israel and northeast of Edom, in what is now North Arabia. The LXX has “on the borders of Edom and Arabia.” An early Christian tradition placed his home in an area about 40 miles south of Damascus, in Baashan at the southeast foot of Hermon.
- Job 1:1 tn In Hebrew the defining relative clause (“whose name was Job”) is actually an asyndetic verbless noun-clause placed in apposition to the substantive (“a man”); see GKC 486 §155.e.
- Job 1:1 sn The name “Job” is mentioned by Ezekiel as one of the greats in the past—Noah, Job, and Daniel (14:14). The suffering of Job was probably well known in the ancient world, and this name was clearly part of that tradition. There is little reason to try to determine the etymology and meaning of the name, since it may not be Hebrew. If it were Hebrew, it might mean something like “persecuted,” although some suggest “aggressor.” If Arabic it might have the significance of “the one who always returns to God.”
- Job 1:1 tn The word תָּם (tam) has been translated “blameless” (so NIV, NLT, NASB). The verbal root תָּמַם (tamam) means “to be blameless, complete.” The word is found in Gen 25:27 where it describes Jacob as “even-tempered.” It also occurs in Ps 64:5 (64:4 ET) and Prov 29:10. The meaning is that a person or a thing is complete, perfect, flawless. It does not mean that he was sinless, but that he was wholeheartedly trying to please God, that he had integrity and was blameless before God.
- Job 1:1 tn The word יָשָׁר (yashar, “upright”) is complementary to “blameless.” The idea is “upright, just,” and applies to his relationships with others (see Pss 25:21; 37:37).
- Job 1:1 sn These two expressions indicate the outcome of Job’s character. “Fearing God” and “turning from evil” also express two correlative ideas in scripture; they signify his true piety—he had reverential fear of the Lord, meaning he was a truly devoted worshiper who shunned evil.
Job 1:8
New English Translation
8 So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered[a] my servant Job? There is no[b] one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away[c] from evil.”
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- Job 1:8 tn The Hebrew has “have you placed your heart on Job?” This means “direct your mind to” (cf. BDB 963 s.v. I שׂוּם 2.b).sn The question is undoubtedly rhetorical, for it is designed to make Satan aware of Job as God extols his fine qualities.
- Job 1:8 tn The Hebrew conjunction כִּי (ki) need not be translated in this case or it might be taken as emphatic (cf. IBHS 665 §39.3.4e): “Certainly there is no one like him.”
- Job 1:8 tn The same expressions that appeared at the beginning of the chapter appear here in the words of God. In contrast to that narrative report about Job, the emphasis here is on Job’s present character, and so the participle form is translated here as a gnomic or characteristic present (“turns”). It modifies “man” as one who is turning from evil.
Job 29:8-17
New English Translation
8 the young men would see me and step aside,[a]
and the old men would get up and remain standing;
9 the chief men refrained from talking
and covered their mouths with their hands;
10 the voices of the nobles fell silent,[b]
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Job’s Benevolence
11 “As soon as the ear heard these things,[c] it blessed me,[d]
and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,
12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the orphan who[e] had no one to assist him;
13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me,[f]
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;[g]
14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me,[h]
my just dealing[i] was like a robe and a turban;
15 I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame;
16 I was a father[j] to the needy,
and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;
17 I broke the fangs[k] of the wicked,
and made him drop[l] his prey from his teeth.
Footnotes
- Job 29:8 tn The verb means “to hide; to withdraw.” The young men out of respect would withdraw or yield the place of leadership to Job (thus the translation “step aside”). The old men would rise and remain standing until Job took his seat—a sign of respect.
- Job 29:10 tn The verb here is “hidden” as well as in v. 8. But this is a strange expression for voices. Several argue that the word was erroneously inserted from 8a and needs to be emended. But the word “hide” can have extended meanings of “withdraw; be quiet; silent” (see Gen 31:27). A. Guillaume relates the Arabic habiʾa, “the fire dies out,” applying the idea of “silent” only to v. 10 (it is a form of repetition of words with different senses, called jinas). The point here is that whatever conversation was going on would become silent or hushed to hear what Job had to say.
- Job 29:11 tn The words “these things” and “them” in the next colon are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Job 29:11 tn The main clause is introduced by the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive (see GKC 327 §111.h); the clause before it is therefore temporal and circumstantial to the main clause.
- Job 29:12 tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).
- Job 29:13 tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (boʾ, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (ʿal, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).
- Job 29:13 tn The verb אַרְנִן (ʾarnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.
- Job 29:14 tn Both verbs in this first half-verse are from לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe; to put on clothing”). P. Joüon changed the vowels to get a verb “it adorned me” instead of “it clothed me” (Bib 11 [1930]: 324). The figure of clothing is used for the character of the person: to wear righteousness is to be righteous.
- Job 29:14 tn The word מִשְׁפָּטִי (mishpati) is simply “my justice” or “my judgment.” It refers to the decisions he made in settling issues, how he dealt with other people justly.
- Job 29:16 sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.
- Job 29:17 tn The word rendered “fangs” actually means “teeth,” i.e., the molars probably; it is used frequently of the teeth of wild beasts. Of course, the language is here figurative, comparing the oppressing enemy to a preying animal.
- Job 29:17 tn “I made [him] drop.” The verb means “to throw; to cast,” throw in the sense of “to throw away.” But in the context with the figure of the beast with prey in its mouth, “drop” or “cast away” is the idea. Driver finds another cognate meaning “rescue” (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).
Job 31:1-23
New English Translation
Job Vindicates Himself
31 “I made a covenant with[a] my eyes;
how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?[b]
2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,
one’s heritage from the Almighty[c] on high?
3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust,
and disaster for those who work iniquity?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 If[d] I have walked in falsehood,
and if[e] my foot has hastened[f] to deceit—
6 let him[g] weigh me with honest[h] scales;
then God will discover[i] my integrity.
7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,
if my heart has gone after my eyes,[j]
or if anything[k] has defiled my hands,
8 then let me sow[l] and let another eat,
and let my crops[m] be uprooted.
9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,[n]
10 then let my wife turn the millstone[o] for another man,
and may other men commit adultery with her.[p]
11 For I would have committed[q] a shameful act,[r]
an iniquity to be judged.[s]
12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction,[t]
and it would uproot[u] all my harvest.
13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants
or my female servants
when they disputed[v] with me,
14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment;[w]
when he intervenes,[x]
how will I respond to him?
15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them?[y]
Did not the same one form us in the womb?
16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired,[z]
or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,
and did not share any of it with orphans[aa]—
18 but from my youth I raised the orphan[ab] like a father,
and from my mother’s womb[ac] I guided the widow[ad]—
19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor man without a coat,
20 whose heart did not bless me[ae]
as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,[af]
21 if I have raised my hand[ag] to vote against the orphan,
when I saw my support in the court,[ah]
22 then[ai] let my arm fall from the shoulder,[aj]
let my arm be broken off at the socket.[ak]
23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me,[al]
and by reason of his majesty[am] I was powerless.
Footnotes
- Job 31:1 tn The idea of cutting a covenant for something may suggest a covenant that is imposed, except that this construction elsewhere argues against it (see 2 Chr 29:10).
- Job 31:1 tn This half-verse is the effect of the covenant. The interrogative מָה (mah) may have the force of the negative, and so be translated “not to pay attention.”
- Job 31:2 tn Heb “lot of Shaddai,” which must mean “the lot from Shaddai,” a genitive of source.
- Job 31:5 tn The normal approach is to take this as the protasis, and then have it resumed in v. 7 after a parenthesis in v. 6. But some take v. 6 as the apodosis and a new protasis in v. 7.
- Job 31:5 tn The “if” is understood by the use of the consecutive verb.
- Job 31:5 sn The verbs “walk” and “hasten” (referring in the verse to the foot) are used metaphorically for the manner of life Job lived.
- Job 31:6 tn “God” is undoubtedly the understood subject of this jussive. However, “him” is retained in the translation at this point to avoid redundancy since “God” occurs in the second half of the verse.
- Job 31:6 tn The word צֶדֶךְ (tsedeq, “righteousness”) forms a fitting genitive for the scales used in trade or justice. The “scales of righteousness” are scales that conform to the standard (see the illustration in Deut 25:13-15). They must be honest scales to make just decisions.
- Job 31:6 tn The verb is וְיֵדַע (veyedaʿ, “and [then] he [God] will know”). The verb could also be subordinated to the preceding jussive, “so that God may know.” The meaning of “to know” here has more the idea of “to come to know; to discover.”
- Job 31:7 sn The meaning is “been led by what my eyes see.”
- Job 31:7 tc The word מֻאוּם (muʾum) could be taken in one of two ways. One reading is to represent מוּם (mum, “blemish,” see the Masorah); the other is for מְאוּמָה (meʾumah, “anything,” see the versions and the Kethib). Either reading fits the passage.
- Job 31:8 tn The cohortative is often found in the apodosis of the conditional clause (see GKC 320 §108.f).
- Job 31:8 tn The word means “what sprouts up” (from יָצָא [yatsaʾ] with the sense of “sprout forth”). It could refer metaphorically to children (and so Kissane and Pope), as well as in its literal sense of crops. The latter fits here perfectly.
- Job 31:9 tn Gordis notes that the word פֶּתַח (petakh, “door”) has sexual connotations in rabbinic literature, based on Prov 7:6ff. (see b. Ketubbot 9b). See also the use in Song 4:12 using a synonym.
- Job 31:10 tn Targum Job interpreted the verb טָחַן (takhan, “grind”) in a sexual sense, and this has influenced other versions and commentaries. But the literal sense fits well in this line. The idea is that she would be a slave for someone else (or someone else’s wife). The second line of the verse then might build on this to explain what kind of a slave—a concubine (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 215).
- Job 31:10 tn Heb “kneel down over her,” an idiom for sexual relations.sn The idea is that if Job were guilty of adultery it would be an offense against the other woman’s husband, and so by talionic justice another man’s adultery with Job’s wife would be an offense against him. He is not wishing something on his wife; rather, he is simply looking at what would be offenses in kind.
- Job 31:11 tn Heb “for that [would be].” In order to clarify the referent of “that,” which refers to v. 9 rather than v. 10, the words “I have committed” have been supplied in the translation.
- Job 31:11 tn The word for “shameful act” is used especially for sexual offenses (cf. Lev 18:27).
- Job 31:11 tc Some have deleted this verse as being short and irrelevant, not to mention problematic. But the difficulties are not insurmountable, and there is no reason to delete it. There is a Kethib-Qere reading in each half verse; in the first the Kethib is masculine for the subject but the Qere is feminine going with “shameless deed.” In the second colon the Kethib is the feminine agreeing with the preceding noun, but the Qere is masculine agreeing with “iniquity.”tn The expression עָוֹן פְּלִילִים (ʿavon pelilim) means “an iniquity of the judges.” The first word is not spelled as a construct noun, and so this has led some to treat the second word as an adjective (with enclitic mem [ם]). The sense is similar in either case, for the adjective occurs in Job 31:28 meaning “calling for judgment” (See GKC 427 §131.s).
- Job 31:12 tn Heb “to Abaddon.”
- Job 31:12 tn The verb means “to root out,” but this does not fit the parallelism with fire. Wright changed two letters and the vowels in the verb to get the root צָרַף (tsaraf, “to burn”). The NRSV has “burn to the root.”
- Job 31:13 tn This construction is an adverbial clause using the temporal preposition, the infinitive from רִיב (riv, “contend”), and the suffix which is the subjective genitive.
- Job 31:14 tn Heb “arises.” The LXX reads “takes vengeance,” an interpretation that is somewhat correct but unnecessary. The verb “to rise” would mean “to confront in judgment.”
- Job 31:14 tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” but with God as the subject it means any divine intervention for blessing or cursing, anything God does that changes a person’s life. Here it is “visit to judge.”
- Job 31:15 tn Heb “him,” but the plural pronoun has been used in the translation to indicate that the referent is the servants mentioned in v. 13 (since the previous “him” in v. 14 refers to God).
- Job 31:16 tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”
- Job 31:17 tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”
- Job 31:18 tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.
- Job 31:18 tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”
- Job 31:18 tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.
- Job 31:20 tn The MT has simply “if his loins did not bless me.” In the conditional clause this is another protasis. It means, “if I saw someone dying and if he did not thank me for clothing them.” It is Job’s way of saying that whenever he saw a need he met it, and he received his share of thanks—which prove his kindness. G. R. Driver has it “without his loins having blessed me,” taking “If…not” as an Aramaism, meaning “except” (AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 164f.).
- Job 31:20 tn This clause is interpreted here as a subordinate clause to the first half of the verse. It could also be a separate clause: “was he not warmed…?”
- Job 31:21 tn The expression “raised my hand” refers to a threatening manner or gesture in the court rather than a threat of physical violence in the street. Thus the words “to vote” are supplied in the translation to indicate the setting.
- Job 31:21 tn Heb “gate,” referring to the city gate where judicial decisions were rendered in the culture of the time. The translation uses the word “court” to indicate this to the modern reader, who might not associate a city gate complex with judicial functions.
- Job 31:22 sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.
- Job 31:22 tn The point is that if he has raised his arm against the oppressed it should be ripped off at the joint. The MT has “let fall my shoulder [כְּתֵפִי, ketefi] from the nape of the neck [or shoulder blade (מִשִּׁכְמָה, mishikhmah)].”
- Job 31:22 tn The word קָנֶה (qaneh) is “reed; shaft; beam,” and here “shoulder joint.” All the commentaries try to explain how “reed” became “socket; joint.” This is the only place that it is used in such a sense. Whatever the exact explanation—and there seems to be no convincing view—the point of the verse is nonetheless clear.
- Job 31:23 tc The LXX has “For the terror of God restrained me.” Several commentators changed it to “came upon me.” Driver had “The fear of God was burdensome.” I. Eitan suggested “The terror of God was mighty upon me” (“Two unknown verbs: etymological studies,” JBL 42 [1923]: 22-28). But the MT makes clear sense as it stands.
- Job 31:23 tn The form is וּמִשְּׂאֵתוֹ (umisseʾeto); the preposition is causal. The form, from the verb נָשָׂא (nasaʾ, “to raise; to lift high”), refers to God’s exalted person, his majesty (see Job 13:11).
Exodus 20:17
New English Translation
17 “You shall not covet[a] your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”[b]
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- Exodus 20:17 tn The verb חָמַד (khamad) focuses not on an external act but on an internal mental activity behind the act, the motivation for it. The word can be used in a very good sense (Pss 19:10; 68:16), but it has a bad connotation in contexts where the object desired is off limits. This command is aimed at curtailing the greedy desire for something belonging to a neighbor, a desire that leads to the taking of it or the attempt to take it. It was used in the story of the Garden of Eden for the tree that was desired.
- Exodus 20:17 sn See further G. Wittenburg, “The Tenth Commandment in the Old Testament,” Journal for Theology in South Africa 21 (1978): 3-17: and E. W. Nicholson, “The Decalogue as the Direct Address of God,” VT 27 (1977): 422-33.
Matthew 7:22-27
New English Translation
22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’[a] 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’[b]
Hearing and Doing
24 “Everyone[c] who hears these words of mine and does them is like[d] a wise man[e] who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the flood[f] came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed—it was utterly destroyed!”[g]
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- Matthew 7:22 tn Grk “did we not in your name prophesy and in your name cast out demons and in your name do many powerful deeds.” The phrase “in your name” occurs before each of the verbs in the Greek text, making it somewhat emphatic, but the phrase was placed after the verbs in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Matthew 7:23 tn Or “you who commit lawless deeds”; or “you who behave lawlessly”; Grk “workers of lawlessness.”
- Matthew 7:24 tn Grk “Therefore everyone.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.
- Matthew 7:24 tn Grk “will be like.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.
- Matthew 7:24 tn Here and in v. 26 the Greek text reads ἀνήρ (anēr), while the parallel account in Luke 6:47-49 uses ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) in vv. 48 and 49.
- Matthew 7:25 tn Grk “the rivers.”
- Matthew 7:27 tn Grk “and great was its fall.”
Matthew 5:16
New English Translation
16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.
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Ephesians 3:10
New English Translation
10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that[a] through the church the multifaceted wisdom[b] of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.
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- Ephesians 3:10 tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.
- Ephesians 3:10 tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”
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