Job 27

Translator Notes

1. The formula va-yosef Iyyov se'et meshalo ('and Job again lifted up his discourse/parable') is different from the usual 'answered and said.' The mashal ('discourse, proverb, parable, poem') signals a shift to a more formal, deliberate mode of speech. Job is not merely responding to Bildad — he is making a solemn declaration.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The chai El ('as God lives') is the most solemn oath formula in Israelite speech. But Job immediately subverts the convention: this living God hesir mishpati ('has removed/denied my justice') and Shaddai hemar nafshi ('has made my soul bitter'). The juxtaposition is breathtaking — Job swears by the very God he accuses. He has no other deity to swear by, so he invokes the one who is both his judge and his adversary. The verb hemar ('made bitter') from the root marar echoes Naomi's words in Ruth 1:20: 'the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.'

Translator Notes

1. The kol od nishmati bi ('all while my breath is in me') establishes the duration of the oath: it lasts as long as Job lives. The ruach Eloah be-appi ('and the spirit/breath of God is in my nostrils') echoes Genesis 2:7 where God breathed the breath of life into Adam's nostrils. The very breath that sustains Job's life comes from the God he is accusing — another layer of the paradox. Job will maintain his oath for as long as God keeps him alive.

Translator Notes

1. The im tedabbernah sefatai avlah ('if my lips speak wrongfulness/injustice') — the im ('if') in an oath context functions as a strong negative: 'my lips will certainly not speak injustice.' The uleshoni im yehgeh remiyyah ('and my tongue — if it mutters deceit') — same construction. Job pledges total truthfulness. The avlah ('wrongfulness, injustice, falsehood') is the same word used for perverted justice — Job would be committing the same crime he accuses God of if he were to lie.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The chalilah li ('far be it from me, may it be profanity for me') im atsdiq etkhem ('if I declare you righteous, if I vindicate you') — Job refuses to validate the friends' theology. To do so would be to lie about his own experience. The ad egva ('until I expire, until I die') lo asir tummati mimmenni ('I will not remove my integrity from me'). The tummah ('integrity, completeness, wholeness') is the same word God used in 2:3: 'he still holds fast his tummah.' Job grasps his integrity as a man grasps a weapon — he will not let go.

Translator Notes

1. The be-tsidqati hechezaqti ('in my righteousness I have held fast') ve-lo arpeha ('and I will not let it go, I will not relax my grip') — the verb chazaq ('to be strong, to grip, to seize') and rapah ('to let go, to relax') form a pair: Job's fist is clenched around his righteousness and will not open. The lo yecheraf levavi mi-yyamai ('my heart does not reproach me from my days') — Job's conscience is clear. Not one of his days accuses him. This is the final, comprehensive claim of innocence.

Translator Notes

1. A pivot verse. The yehi khe-rasha oyevi ('let my enemy be as the wicked') — Job imprecates his opponents. If anyone falsely accuses him, let that person receive the fate of the wicked. The u-mitqomemi khe-avval ('and the one who rises against me as the unjust') — the mitqomem ('the one who rises up against') could refer to the friends, to unnamed opponents, or to anyone who persecutes the innocent. This verse frames the following description of the wicked man's fate (verses 8-23) as a curse on those who have wronged Job.

Translator Notes

1. The mah tiqvat chanef ('what is the hope of the godless/hypocrite') ki yivtsa ('when he cuts off, when he gains by violence') — the chanef is someone who is profane, polluted, or hypocritical. The ki yeshel Eloah nafsho ('when God draws out his soul') — God extracts the life of the godless. The verb shalah ('to draw out, pull out') suggests God reaching in and pulling the soul from the body.

Translator Notes

1. The ha-tsa'aqato yishma El ('will God hear his cry') — the tsa'aqah is the cry of distress, the same word used for Israel's cry in Egypt (Exodus 3:7). But the godless man's cry goes unheard because ki tavo alav tsarah ('when trouble comes upon him') he has no relationship with God to sustain the appeal. The irony for Job is that he claims God does not hear his cry either — but Job believes he has the right to be heard.

Translator Notes

1. The im al Shaddai yit'annag ('does he take delight in the Almighty') — the verb anag ('to delight, to take pleasure') describes genuine relational enjoyment, not mere ritual. The yiqra Eloah be-khol et ('does he call upon God at every time') — consistent prayer, not crisis-only religion. Job implies that the godless have no ongoing relationship with God — they do not delight in him or pray to him — so their crisis prayers fall on deaf ears.

Translator Notes

1. Job reverses the pedagogical dynamic: oreh etkhem ('I will teach you, I will instruct you') be-yad El ('by/about the hand of God'). Throughout the dialogue the friends have been lecturing Job; now Job becomes the teacher. The asher im Shaddai lo akhached ('what is with the Almighty I will not conceal') — Job claims direct knowledge of God's ways, not secondhand tradition. He will speak openly about divine action.

Translator Notes

1. The hen attem kullekhem chazitem ('behold, all of you — you have seen this') — the friends have observed the same reality Job describes but have drawn the wrong conclusions. The ve-lammah zeh hevel tehbalu ('and why this — vanity you become vain, emptiness you spout emptily') — the hevel ('vapor, emptiness, futility') echoes Ecclesiastes. The friends' theology is not just wrong but empty — vapor pretending to be substance. The verb haval in the hiphil means 'to become empty, to act vainly.'

Translator Notes

1. This verse nearly echoes Zophar's conclusion in 20:29 ('this is the portion of a wicked man from God'). Job uses the same formula: zeh cheleq adam rasha im El ('this is the portion of a wicked person with God'). The nachalat aritsim ('the inheritance of tyrants/oppressors') mi-Shaddai yiqqachu ('from the Almighty they receive'). Whether Job is quoting the friends, repurposing their language, or offering his own version of retribution theology, the vocabulary is deliberately borrowed.

Translator Notes

1. The im yirbu banav lemo charev ('if his sons multiply, it is for the sword') — the more children, the more targets. Abundance is a setup for slaughter. The ve-tse'etsa'av lo yisbe'u lachem ('and his descendants will not be satisfied with bread') — starvation follows the sword. The double curse of violent death and hunger falls on the next generation. Job describes inherited consequences — the wicked man's sin punishes his lineage.

Translator Notes

1. The seridav ('his survivors') ba-mavet yiqqaveru ('by death/plague they are buried') — the mavet here likely means pestilence or plague rather than 'death' in the abstract sense. Those who escape the sword and famine die of disease. The ve-almenotav lo tivkeinah ('and his widows do not weep') — the widows' refusal to mourn is the ultimate verdict on the dead man. He was so hated that his own wives feel no grief. The plural 'widows' may suggest polygamy or serial marriages.

Translator Notes

1. The im yitsbor ke-afar kasef ('if he heaps up like dust silver') — silver accumulated in the quantities of dust, meaning limitless wealth. The ve-kha-chomer yakhin malbush ('and like clay he prepares garments') — fine clothing stacked in the volume of clay. Both images convey absurd abundance: wealth as common as dirt, wardrobes as plentiful as mud. The irony is that these similes use the cheapest substances (dust, clay) to describe the most expensive goods.

Translator Notes

1. The reversal: yakhin ('he prepares') ve-tsaddiq yilbash ('but the righteous will wear it'). The wicked man's wardrobe becomes the righteous man's clothing. The ve-khesef naqi yachaloq ('and silver the innocent will divide') — the wicked man's treasury is redistributed to the innocent. This is retribution theology in its most satisfying form: stolen wealth returns to its rightful owners. The tsaddiq ('righteous') and naqi ('innocent, clean') are precisely the qualities Job claims for himself.

Translator Notes

1. The banah kha-ash beito ('he builds like a moth his house') — the moth's cocoon is fragile, temporary, easily torn. The ukhe-sukkah asah notser ('and like a booth a watchman makes') — the sukkah is a temporary harvest shelter, a lean-to of branches built for a few weeks and then abandoned. Both images stress impermanence: the wicked man's grand construction is as flimsy as insect silk and as temporary as a seasonal hut.

Translator Notes

1. The ashir yishkav ('the rich man lies down') ve-lo ye'asef ('and he is not gathered/he does so no more') — the verb asaf can mean 'to gather, to be taken in, to be added to.' The ambiguity may suggest 'he will not be gathered to his fathers' (will have no proper burial) or 'he will not do so again' (this is his last night of wealth). The einav paqach ve-einennu ('he opens his eyes and he is not') — the vanishing act is complete. He wakes to find himself erased.

Translator Notes

1. The tassigehu kha-mmayim ballahot ('terrors overtake him like waters') — the ballahot ('terrors, sudden destruction') arrive with the force and speed of a flash flood. The lailah genavatto sufah ('in the night a storm steals him') — the sufah ('storm wind, whirlwind') is a thief that operates under cover of darkness. The wicked man's destruction is both natural disaster and burglary: overwhelming and stealthy at once.

Translator Notes

1. The yissa'ehu qadim ('the east wind carries him away') ve-yelakh ('and he goes') — the qadim ('east wind') is the hot, destructive desert wind that blows from the Arabian wilderness. It withers crops and brings misery (Hosea 13:15, Ezekiel 17:10). The vi-se'arehu mi-mmeqomo ('and it storms him from his place') — the verb sa'ar ('to storm, to sweep away') turns the wind into a violent relocation. The wicked man is torn from his place like a tent ripped from its stakes.

Translator Notes

1. The ve-yashlekh alav ('and it hurls/casts upon him') ve-lo yachmol ('and it does not spare, does not pity') — the wind (or God, as the implied subject) shows no mercy. The mi-yyado baroach yivrach ('from his hand, fleeing he flees') — the doubled verb form (baroach yivrach) emphasizes the desperation of the flight. He runs and runs but cannot escape the pursuing wind.

Translator Notes

1. The yisfoq aleimo kappeimo ('it claps its hands over him') — the subject may be the wind, or people, or the cosmos itself. The clapping of hands is a gesture of mockery and derision (Lamentations 2:15, Nahum 3:19). The ve-yishroq alav mi-mmeqomo ('and it hisses/whistles at him from his place') — the hissing is a sound of contempt and horror. The wicked man exits the stage to the sound of jeering — the universe itself mocks him. This is the most visceral image of cosmic contempt in the dialogue, and it brings Job's discourse on the fate of the wicked to a harsh and definitive close.