Job 36:16-21
Legacy Standard Bible
16 Then indeed, He (A)enticed you from the mouth of distress,
Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;
And the comfort of your table full of [a]fatness.
17 “But you were full of (B)judgment on the wicked;
Judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Beware lest (C)wrath entice you to scoffing;
And do not let the greatness of the (D)atonement turn you aside.
19 Will your [b]cries keep you from distress,
Or all the forces of your power?
20 Do not long for (E)the night,
When people [c]vanish in their place.
21 Be careful, do (F)not turn to wickedness,
For you have chosen this to (G)affliction.
Job 36:16-21
New English Translation
16 And surely, he drew you[a] from the mouth of distress,
to a wide place, unrestricted,[b]
and to the comfort[c] of your table
filled with rich food.[d]
17 But now you are preoccupied with the judgment due the wicked,
judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Be careful that[e] no one entices you with riches;
do not let a large bribe[f] turn you aside.
19 Would your wealth[g] sustain you,
so that you would not be in distress,[h]
even all your mighty efforts?[i]
20 Do not long for the cover of night
to drag people away from their homes.[j]
21 Take heed, do not turn to evil,
for because of this you have been tested[k] by affliction.
Footnotes
- Job 36:16 tn The Hebrew verb means “to entice; to lure; to allure; to seduce,” but these have negative connotations. The English “to persuade; to draw” might work better. The verb is the Hiphil perfect of סוּת (sut). But the nuance of the verb is difficult. It can be equivalent to an English present expressing what God is doing (Peake). But the subject is contested as well. Since the verb usually has an evil connotation, there have been attempts to make the “plaza” the subject—“the wide place has led you astray” (Ewald).
- Job 36:16 tn Heb “a broad place where there is no cramping beneath [or under] it.”
- Job 36:16 tn The word נַחַת (nakhat) could be translated “set” if it is connected with the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest,” but then “to lay to rest, to set”). Kissane translates it “comfort.” Dhorme thinks it could come from נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) or נָחַת (nakhat, “to descend”). But his conclusion is that it is a dittography after “under it” (p. 545).
- Job 36:16 tn Heb “filled with fat.”
- Job 36:18 tn The first expression is idiomatic: the text says, “because wrath lest it entice you”—thus, beware.
- Job 36:18 tn The word is כֹּפֶר (kofer), often translated “ransom,” but frequently in the sense of a bribe.
- Job 36:19 tn The form in the MT is “your cry (for help).” See J. E. Hartley (Job [NICOT], 472-73) and E. Dhorme (Job, 547-48) on the difficulties.
- Job 36:19 tn This part has only two words לֹא בְצָר (loʾ betsar, “not in distress”). The negated phrase serves to explain the first colon.
- Job 36:19 tc For the many suggestions and the reasoning here, see the commentaries.
- Job 36:20 tn The meaning of this line is difficult. There are numerous suggestions for emending the text. Kissane takes the first verb in the sense of “oppress,” and for “the night” he has “belonging to you,” meaning “your people.” This reads: “Oppress not them that belong not to you, that your kinsmen may mount up in their place.”
- Job 36:21 tn Normally “tested” would be the translation for the Niphal of בָּחַר (bakhar). Although the Qal is employed here, the context favors “tested” rather than “chose.”
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