Job 36:16-18

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 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).
2. Job 36:16 tn Heb “a broad place where there is no cramping beneath [or under] it.”
3. 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).
4. Job 36:16 tn Heb “filled with fat.”
5. Job 36:18 tn The first expression is idiomatic: the text says, “because wrath lest it entice you”—thus, beware.
6. Job 36:18 tn The word is כֹּפֶר (kofer), often translated “ransom,” but frequently in the sense of a bribe.