Job 22-31
New Catholic Bible
Third Cycle of Speeches[a]
Eliphaz’s Third Speech
Chapter 22
Is God Punishing You for Your Piety?[b] 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded:
2 “Can anyone be of the slightest interest to God,
even if that person is recognized for his wisdom?
3 Does the Almighty derive any pleasure if you are righteous?
Does he profit if you lead a blameless life?
4 Is he punishing you for your piety
and therefore will bring you to justice?
5 Is not your wickedness great?
Is there any limit to your iniquities?
The Injustice Job Has Committed[c]
6 “You have exacted pledges from your brothers as security
and left them naked, stripped of their clothing.[d]
7 To the thirsty you offered no water to drink,
and you withheld bread from those who were starving.
8 Should the land belong only to the powerful?
Are only those who are favored allowed to dwell in it?
9 “You have sent widows away empty-handed
and left orphans without any means of support.
10 That is why snares surround you
and sudden terror causes you to cringe,
11 why light has turned to darkness, leaving you unable to see,
and flood waters envelop you.
The Unbelief of Job
12 “Does not God who dwells in the heights of the heavens
behold how lofty are the highest stars?
13 Even so, you say, ‘What does God know?
How can he possibly judge through such deep darkness?
14 He cannot possibly see through the thick clouds
as he roams through the vault of the heavens.’
15 “Will you still continue to follow the ancient way
that those who are wicked have trod?
16 They were snatched away before their time;
their foundations were swept away by a flood.[e]
17 They had said to God, ‘Leave us alone!’
and thought, ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 “Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
even though his plans and theirs were diametrically opposed.
19 The upright rejoice at witnessing such a spectacle,
and the innocent deride them:
20 ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed,
and what remained of their wealth has been consumed by fire.’[f]
If You Return to the Almighty . . .
21 “Come to terms with God and be reconciled.
In this way good fortune will come to you.
22 Accept the instruction from his lips
and keep his words in your heart.[g]
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
if you remove iniquity from your tent
24 and treat gold as if it were only dust
and the gold of Ophir[h] as pebbles from the stream,
25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 “For then the Almighty will be your delight
and you will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
28 Whatever decision you make will be successful,
and light will shine along your path.
29 For God brings low the arrogant
while he saves the humble.
30 He delivers anyone who is innocent;
if your hands are clean, you will be saved.”
Job’s Seventh Response
Chapter 23
If Only I Knew Where To Find God![i] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “My complaint remains bitter;
despite my groans, God’s hand lies heavy on me.
3 Oh, if only I knew where to find him
so that I might discover his dwelling.
4 I would present my case before him
and state arguments in my defense.
5 “Then I would learn what he would answer me,
and contemplate his words to me.
6 He would not use his power to contend with me;
he would only need to consider my arguments.
7 There an upright man could reason with him,
and I would receive a verdict of acquittal.
8 [j]“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I cannot behold him.
9 When I seek him in the north, I cannot find him;
when I turn to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
God Has Caused My Courage To Fail[k]
10 “And yet he is aware of everywhere I go;
if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold.
11 My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established;
I have followed his way and never turned aside.
12 I have not strayed from the commandments of his lips;
I have treasured in my heart the words of his mouth.
13 But once he has made a decision, who can oppose him?
Whatever he desires, that he does.
14 He will not turn aside from what he has planned for me,
as is true of all his other decrees.
15 “That is why I am in such fear of him;
whenever I think of him, I am terrified.
16 God has caused my courage to fail;
the Almighty has filled me with dread.
17 For darkness hides me from him,
and obscurity veils his presence from me.
Chapter 24
The Injustice Crying Out in the World[l]
1 “The actual day of judgment is known by the Almighty;
why does he not reveal it to his faithful?[m]
2 Those who are wicked move boundary stones;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive off the donkey belonging to the orphan;
they take away the widow’s ox as security.
4 They push aside the needy off the road;
those who are destitute are forced into hiding.
5 “Like wild donkeys of the wilderness
the poor go forth at dawn
searching the wasteland for food
with which to feed their children.
6 In the fields they reap what is not theirs
and steal from the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
lacking anything to shelter them from the cold.
8 They are soaked by the mountain rain
and cling to the rocks as a source of shelter.
9 “The fatherless child is snatched from the breast
and carried off as a pledge of security.
10 They go about their work naked, without clothing;
despite their hunger they carry the sheaves.
11 Along the pathways they press out the oil;
they tread the winepresses but themselves suffer thirst.
12 From the town the groans of the dying are heard,
and those who are wounded cry out for help,
yet God remains deaf to their prayer.
13 “There also are those who rebel against the light;
they are ignorant of its ways
and refuse to frequent its paths.
14 When nightfall descends, the murderer arises
to slay the poor and the needy;
during the night he steals forth like a thief.
15 “The eye of the adulterer also waits eagerly for twilight,
thinking, ‘No eye will see me.’
16 In the darkness men break into houses,
but during the day they shut themselves in,
for they are strangers to daylight.
17 Deep darkness is morning to them;
they only feel comfortable amid the terrors of the night.
God Carefully Monitors the Conduct of the Mighty[n]
18 “Such men are debris on the surface of the water;
their portion in the land is accursed,
and no laborer will toil in their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat melt the snow,
so does the netherworld cause sinners to disappear.
20 The womb that shaped them remembers them no more,
and the worm sucks them dry.
21 “They maltreat the barren and childless woman
and show no kindness to the widow.
22 God may sustain the mighty through his strength,
but he carefully monitors their conduct.
23 He grants them a sense of security,
but his eyes are fixed on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a while,
and then they are gone;
they wither and fade like a flower,
shriveling up like ears of grain.
25 “If all this is not true, who will prove me wrong
and show that my words are sheer nonsense?”
Bildad’s Third Speech[o]
Chapter 25
God’s Dominance Inspires Terror. 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded:
2 “Sovereignty and awe belong to God
who has established peace in his realm on high.
3 How can anyone number his forces?[p]
Upon whom does his light not arise?
4 “How then can any man be righteous in God’s eyes?
How can one born of woman be regarded as virtuous?
5 If in his eyes the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure,
6 how much less is man, who is a maggot,
a son of man, who is a worm?”
Job’s Eighth Response
Chapter 26
How Profuse Is the Advice You Suggest![q] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “What a help you are to the helpless,
and what strength you are to the weak!
3 What good counsel you give to the ignorant!
How abundantly you have manifested wisdom!
4 Who has helped you utter those words?
And whose spirit issued forth from your mouth?
God’s Mighty Works
5 “The dead below tremble with fright,
as do the waters and all their inhabitants.
6 The netherworld[r] is laid bare before him,
and Abaddon lies uncovered.
7 “He stretches out the North[s] above the void
and suspends the earth on nothingness.
8 He encloses the waters in dense clouds,
yet the clouds are not torn asunder under their weight.
9 He veils the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds beneath it.
10 “He has established the horizon on the surface of the waters
as the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens shake,
stunned by the thunder of his voice.
12 By his power he churns up the sea,
and by his skill he smites Rahab.[t]
13 By his breath the skies are cleared,
and by his hand he has pierced the fleeing serpent.[u]
14 “These deeds are only a sample of what he has done,
and how faint is the whisper that we hear of him,
but who can possibly comprehend the thunder of his power?”
Chapter 27
I Maintain the Rightness of My Cause.[v] 1 Job then continued his discourse:
2 “I swear by the living God who has denied me justice,
and by the Almighty who has filled my soul with bitterness,
3 that as long as I have a shred of life remaining in me
and the breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 never will my lips utter falsehood,
nor will my tongue be guilty of deceit.
5 “Never will I concede that you[w] are right;
until death I will not renounce my innocence.
6 I maintain the rightness of my cause;
my conscience does not reproach me for the life I have led.
7 “Let my enemy meet the fate of the wicked
and my adversary face the doom of the unjust.
8 For what hope does a godless man have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God pay heed to his cry
when disaster comes upon him?
10 Will he then take delight in the Almighty
and call upon him at all times?
11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
I will not conceal the designs of the Almighty.
12 Yet all of you have seen it yourselves;
how then can you waste your time with idle words?”
Zophar’s Third Speech[x]
The Law of the Violent
13 “This is the fate that God allots for the wicked man,
the inheritance that the violent receive from the Almighty.
14 Though numerous, his children are destined for the sword,
and his descendants will never have enough to eat.
15 His survivors will perish as a result of pestilence,
and their widows will not mourn for them.
16 “Even though he amasses silver like dust
and piles up clothes like clay,
17 it is the righteous who will wear those clothes
and the innocent who will divide the silver.
18 The house he builds is as flimsy as a cobweb
or like a shack that shelters the watchman.
19 He goes to bed a man of wealth for the final time;
he opens his eyes to find that it is all gone.
20 “By day terror overtakes him,
and at night a whirlwind carries him away.
21 An east wind seizes him and he is gone;
it sweeps him far away from his home.[y]
22 It assails him without pity,
and he flees from its force that menaces him.
23 His downfall is acclaimed with joy,
and he is derided wherever he may be.
The Praise of Wisdom[z]
Chapter 28
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?[aa]
1 “There are mines for silver
and places where gold is refined.
2 Iron is extracted from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Miners penetrate the darkness;
they search to the farthest recesses
to discover the ore hidden in gloom and shadow.
4 They open shafts in uninhabited places,
swinging suspended, far away from anyone.
5 “While grain is coming forth from the earth above,
what lies beneath is ravaged by fire.
6 Its rocks are the enclosure for sapphires,
and there is gold contained in its dust.
7 No bird of prey knows the path there;
the eye of a falcon has not seen it.
8 Proud beasts have not trodden it;
no lion has ever passed over it.
9 “Man begins to assail the granite rock
and overturns the mountains at their foundations.
10 He cuts channels into the rocks,
and his eyes behold precious gems.
11 He explores the sources of the streams
and brings hidden riches to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Wisdom Cannot Be Purchased[ab]
13 “No one knows the way to it,
nor is it to be found in the land of the living.
14 The abyss declares, ‘It is not in me.’
The sea says, ‘I do not have it.’
15 It cannot be purchased with gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
16 “It cannot be acquired with the gold of Ophir,
nor with precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Gold or crystal[ac] cannot be compared to it,
nor can it be exchanged for vessels of gold.
18 Neither coral nor alabaster deserve to be mentioned;
the price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
19 Topaz from Ethiopia is worthless in comparison to it,
nor can it be valued in terms of pure gold.
20 “Where then is the source of wisdom?
Where is intelligence to be found?
God Alone Knows Where Wisdom Can Be Found[ad]
21 “It cannot be seen by the eye of any living creature;
it is even concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and the netherworld[ae] admit,
‘We have only heard rumors of it.’
23 “God alone understands the path to wisdom;
he alone knows where it can be found.
24 For he can observe the farthest ends of the earth,
and he sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When God regulated the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
26 when he imposed a limit for the rain
and cleared a path for the thunderbolt,
27 then he saw wisdom and evaluated it,
established it and assessed it completely.
28 And then he declared to man:
‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom,
and to turn from evil is understanding.’ ”
Job’s Final Speech: His Appeal to God
Chapter 29
The Happy Time.[af] 1 Then Job continued further with his solemn discourse, as he said:
2 “Oh, how I yearn for the months long gone
and for those days when God kept watch over me,
3 when his lamp continued to shine above my head
and by his light I could walk through darkness.
4 “In those days I was in my prime,
and God protected my tent.
5 The Almighty was ever present at my side,
and my children were around me.
6 My feet were bathed in milk,
and the rocks poured forth streams of oil[ag] for me.
7 “When I would go forth to the gate of the city[ah]
and take my seat in the public square,
8 the young men would see me and withdraw,
and the old men would rise to their feet.
9 The nobles would refrain from speaking
and would place their hands over their mouths.
10 The voices of the princes were silenced,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
People Praised My Works
11 “Whoever heard my words spoke favorably of me,
and those who saw me testified to my merit,
12 because I delivered the poor who appealed for help
and the orphan who had no one to protect him.
13 The blessing of the wretched was given to me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 “I put on righteousness as my garment;
justice was my cloak and my turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I defended the rights of the stranger.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched their prey from their teeth.
18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in honor
after having multiplied my days like grains of sand,[ai]
19 with my roots spreading out to the waters
and the dew lying on my branches throughout the night.
20 My glory will be forever new
and the bow in my hand forever strong.’
21 [aj]“Men waited expectantly to hear my words
and listened in silence to my counsel.
22 Once I had spoken, no one spoke further
but simply let my thoughts penetrate their minds.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
with open mouths as though to drink in a spring shower.
24 “When I smiled at them, they were filled with gratitude,
and they were clearly strengthened because of the way I treated them.
25 As their leader I told them which course to follow,
and I lived like a king among his troops,
or as a comforter of mourners.
Chapter 30
Now I Am the Laughingstock
1 “But now I am the laughingstock
of people who are younger than I,
people whose fathers I would not have considered fit
to put with the dogs guarding my flock.
2 Of what use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had completely wasted away.
3 “Enfeebled by want and hunger,
they gnawed roots in the wilderness,
a gloomy place of dry and desolate ground.
4 They plucked saltwort and scrub for food,
and they ate the roots of the broom tree.[ak]
5 Cast out from human society
and berated as thieves and pursued,
6 they were forced to live on the sides of ravines,
in holes in the ground, and in clefts of rock.
7 Among the bushes you could hear them braying,
huddled together under the nettles.
8 They are a vile and irresponsible brood,
driven as outcasts from society.
9 “And these are the ones who speak mockingly about me;
my name is a byword among them.
10 They abhor me and keep their distance from me;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 And since God has loosened my bowspring[al] and humbled me,
they have ceased to have any restraint in my presence.
12 “The rabble attack in a mob on my right flank;
they lay snares for my feet
and raise their siege-ramps against me.
13 They advance through my crumbling defenses,
blocking every means of escape,
and no one restrains them.
14 They burst forward through a gaping breach
and advance in waves.
15 Terrors surround me on all sides;
my confidence disintegrates,
and my hope of deliverance vanishes like a cloud.
God’s Severity[am]
16 “And now my life has begun to ebb away;
my days are filled with grief and affliction.
17 During the night pain wracks my bones,
and I suffer from ceaseless throbbing that allows me no respite.
18 God seizes my garment violently,
grasping me by the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
and I am covered with dust and ashes.
20 “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer me;
I stand before you, but you barely take notice.
21 You have turned with severity against me;
with your strong hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up and place me at the mercy of the wind,
allowing me to be tossed about in the storm.
23 I know indeed that you will hand me over to death
and to the place appointed for every living mortal.
Yet I Cannot Discover Why
24 “And yet should you not extend a hand
to someone who pleads with you for help?
25 Did I not shed tears over the plight of the unfortunate?
Was not my soul grieved for the destitute?
26 Yet when I hoped for good, only evil came;
when I looked for light, there was only darkness.
27 My inward parts are in constant pain,
and days of affliction torment me.
28 “I walk about dejected and without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to the jackal
and a companion to the ostrich.
30 My skin has turned black and peels off my body,
and my bones are scorched by heat.
31 My harp has been tuned to dirges,
and my flute to the sounds of weeping.
Chapter 31
Let God Weigh Me on Honest Scales[an]
1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes
not to look with desire upon a virgin.
2 For what is man’s lot prescribed by God above,
his inheritance from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not destruction for the wicked
and disaster for wrongdoers?
4 Does not God see my ways
and number all my steps?
5 “If I have walked in falsehood
or hastened my steps toward deceit,
6 let God weigh me on honest scales;
then he will know that I am blameless.
If My Steps Have Wandered . . .[ao]
7 “If my steps have wandered from the path of righteousness,
or if my eyes have led my heart astray,
or if any stain has besmirched my hands,
8 then let someone else eat what I sow,
and let my crops be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 then let my wife grind grain[ap] for another
and let other men enjoy her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime
and judged as a criminal offense.
12 It would be a fire that leads to Destruction[aq]
until it consumes all my possessions completely.
13 “If I have ever rejected the pleas of my male or female slaves
when they lodged a complaint against me,
14 what will I do when God confronts me?
What will I answer if he calls me to account?
15 Did not he who formed me in the womb also make them?
Did not the one God create all human beings?[ar]
16 “Have I ignored the needs of the poor
or caused the eyes of widows to overflow with tears?
17 Did I ever eat my bread alone
without sharing it with an orphan,
18 I whom God has reared like a father
and guided ever since I left my mother’s womb?
19 “Have I ever seen a stranger in need of clothing,
or a poor wretch with nothing to cover him,
20 whose body has not blessed me
after being warmed with the fleece of my sheep?
21 Have I ever raised my hand against the innocent,
knowing that my friends would support me?
22 “If I have done any of these things,
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder
and let my arm be torn from its socket.
23 For then the fear of God would overcome me
and I would be unable to stand in his presence.
24 “Have I placed my faith in gold
and regarded it as my security?
25 Have I rejoiced in my great wealth
and the abundance of riches in my possession?
26 [as]Have I beheld the sun when it shone
and the moon moving in its splendor
27 and ever found my heart to be secretly enticed
so that I blew them a kiss in homage?
28 Any of these would be a serious offense,
for I would have been unfaithful to God above.
29 [at]“Have I ever rejoiced at the ruin of my enemy
or exulted when evil overtook him—
30 I who would not allow my tongue to sin
by laying his life under a curse?
31 Have not those of my household said,
‘Who has not eaten his meat and been sated?’
32 No stranger has ever had to spend the night in the street;
my door has always been open to the traveler.
33 “Have I ever concealed my transgressions as others do,
keeping my guilt buried within my breast,
34 because I feared the gossip that would ensue,
and I was terrified at the scorn of the multitude?
If so, then I would have remained silent
and not ventured out of doors.
May God Respond[au]
35 [av]“Oh, if only I had someone to hear my defense
and my accuser would write out his indictment!
36 I would wear it on my shoulder
and place it on my head as a crown.
37 I would give him an account of my entire life,
and like a prince I would present myself before him.
Concluding Oath[aw]
38 “If my land has cried out against me
and its furrows have joined in the weeping,
39 if I have eaten its produce without payment
and caused the death of its owners,
40 then let thistles grow instead of wheat
and noxious weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes
- Job 22:1 In this third cycle of speeches, the debate on the human condition remains intense. Job gives a firm answer to the attacks of the three friends by protesting his innocence.
It is important to note that the biblical text itself has reached us in a corrupt form in some places; this makes it impossible to certify fully that the discourses are assigned to the right persons. - Job 22:1 If God intervenes to punish anyone, it is only because justice demands it. Indeed, Job’s situation is so lamentable that Eliphaz believes his fault must be especially grave.
- Job 22:6 According to Eliphaz, Job’s misfortunes are nothing but the punishment for his faults. In chapter 29, Job will deny the type of behavior of which Eliphaz is here accusing him.
- Job 22:6 You have exacted pledges . . . stripped of their clothing: sins that have been condemned by the Prophets (see Am 2:8).
- Job 22:16 An allusion to the flood (Gen 6–8).
- Job 22:20 Fire: moving beyond the allusion to the flood, the speaker expands his horizon to include a description of the destiny in store for all sinners.
- Job 22:22 Job responds to this verse in the next chapter (Job 23:12). Keep his words in your heart: see note on Ps 119:11.
- Job 22:24 Ophir: a section of Arabia, probably on the western coast, from which highly refined gold was imported (see 1 Ki 9:28; 10:11; Ps 45:10).
- Job 23:1 Contrary to what Eliphaz believes, Job does not wish to escape the hand of God. He asks only that he may encounter God in order to set his case before him and let God know that an honest man is in his presence. But God is far off and inaccessible (see Job 9:11-12; Ps 139:7-10).
- Job 23:8 No matter in which direction Job goes, he cannot find God; see, in contrast, the words of the psalmist in Ps 139:7-10.
- Job 23:10 God knows that Job is righteous and faithful. However, God does not make allowances for him. He has taken sides and acts with disquieting freedom; because of this, Job is troubled in his faith and filled with terror. It is the very expression of the “night” through which every mystic must pass.
- Job 24:1 Here, as in places elsewhere, the translations differ widely (but without any of them achieving a clear meaning) in an effort to correct an unintelligible original.
- Job 24:1 Job is eagerly, but vainly, looking for the moment when God will intervene as on the “day of the Lord,” or day of judgment, foretold by the Prophets (see Am 5:18).
- Job 24:18 This passage unduly breaks into the speech. Some critics prefer to think that it was displaced when the texts were being transcribed and that it should be put after Job 27:23, which is likewise anomalous. The two passages, which fit together rather well, would then make up Zophar’s third speech.
- Job 25:1 The course of the debate gives the author an opportunity to introduce a fine piece on the greatness of God. According to some critics, Job interrupts briefly (Job 26:1-4), and Bildad’s speech continues in Job 26:5-14. In this interpretation, Job picks up his thread again in Job 27:1ff.
- Job 25:3 Forces: the angels and the stars.
- Job 26:1 Job appeals to irony once again in answer to Bildad: is it right to proclaim God’s power to a dying man?
- Job 26:6 Netherworld: see note on Ps 6:6. Abaddon: a Hebrew word meaning “a place of destruction,” which was used as another word for the netherworld (see Job 28:22; Rev 9:11).
- Job 26:7 The North: another word for the firmament (see note on Ps 48:3).
- Job 26:12 See the note on Job 7:12.
- Job 26:13 Fleeing serpent: i.e., Leviathan; see notes on Job 3:8; 7:12.
- Job 27:1 Job gives a moving and energetic protest of his innocence, calling God as a witness. Going beyond the framework of the protest, the text describes the silence of God with which the man who has turned away from him will one day have to cope.
- Job 27:5 You: this word is plural in the original, indicating that Job is now speaking to his three friends as a group.
- Job 27:13 Despite its location here, this passage does not seem attributable to Job. It fits better with Zophar’s thinking because it picks up an idea he has already developed in his second speech: the punishment of the wicked (see Job 20:29); it fits rather well with Job 24:18-25.
- Job 27:21 See note on Job 15:2.
- Job 28:1 This praise of wisdom breaks into the debate between Job and his friends. This passage is related to other important passages in other Books dealing with the same subject (Prov 8:22-36; Sir 24; Bar 3:9—4:4). Wisdom is imagined as a person who dwells with God and is consulted by him. It is an image of God’s own thought, in comparison with which all human efforts to discover things seem trivial.
- Job 28:1 The exploitation of mines in the search for gold or precious stones has amazed people from antiquity and led them to use the contribution of slaves and prisoners in pursuit of this difficult work (v. 4). However, it is not by such searches that one can extract the secret of wisdom.
- Job 28:13 Wisdom is not found along the route of human discoveries; all the treasures of the world are of no avail in acquiring it.
- Job 28:17 Crystal: the text actually speaks of “glass,” but in antiquity this was very rare and valuable.
- Job 28:21 God alone knows where wisdom is found. Indeed, she was the inspiration of his work of creation (Prov 8:22-31)!
- Job 28:22 Abaddon and the netherworld: see note on Job 26:6.
- Job 29:1 Job reminisces about days of yesteryear and brilliantly evokes his success as a great Eastern chieftain. Happiness was with him. He made laws with a sovereign authority, and an entire people surrounded him with honor and respect. (Verses 21-25 are normally placed after v. 10, although we have kept them in their place.)
- Job 29:6 Milk . . . oil: see note on Job 20:17.
- Job 29:7 Gate of the city: the place where business was transacted and court cases were heard. Job used to take his seat there as a member of the city council.
- Job 29:18 Grains of sand: another possible translation is: “the phoenix”—a symbol of long life. The ancients regarded the phoenix as a bird that lived for centuries, then became consumed in flames, and finally arose from the ashes with new life.
- Job 29:21 These verses should be read after verse 10.
- Job 30:4 The foods mentioned here (saltwort, scrub, and roots of the broom tree) were the fare of those in extreme poverty.
- Job 30:11 Loosened my bowspring: i.e., done away with my strength.
- Job 30:16 Little by little Job comes back to his essential distress: the fierce hostility of a God who pursues him relentlessly. His faith survives but in a greatly wounded state.
- Job 31:1 If God recompenses everyone according to one’s deserts, he must render justice to Job.
- Job 31:7 Using the traditional formula for cursing (Num 5:20-22), Job examines his life in all the fundamental areas of religion and the law. In his actions, intentions, and most secret feelings, he is without fault.
- Job 31:10 Grind grain: slaves were used for grinding grain.
- Job 31:12 Destruction: literally, “Abaddon”; see note on Job 26:6.
- Job 31:15 Some scholars believe that verses 38-40 of this chapter should be placed after this verse instead of in their accustomed spot.
- Job 31:26 Job knows that to worship the sun or the moon is a sin (see Deut 4:19; 17:3; Ezek 8:16f), and he was careful not to do so. Blew them a kiss: a sign of respect that implied recognition of a divinity (the Latin word adorare [“adore”] came from ad os meaning “put the hand to the mouth”). Therefore, to blow a kiss to the stars meant to practice idolatry.
- Job 31:29 Job has never succumbed to gloating over enemies, which had been condemned by Moses (Ex 23:4f) and would later also be ruled out by Christ (Mt 5:43-47).
- Job 31:35 Job is ready to appear before God and certain to be able to refute every accusation in his presence.
- Job 31:35 The written indictment took the form of a lengthy papyrus scroll that Job would like to wear like a turban.
- Job 31:38 Job now offers a concluding oath to complete an earlier theme. He calls for a curse on his land if he has neglected social justice (see vv. 13-15). Some scholars place verses 38-40 after verse 15 in this chapter.
