Job 10:14-16 New English Translation
14 If I sinned, then you would watch me
and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.
15 If I am guilty,[a] woe[b] to me,
and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head;[c]
I am full of shame,[d]
and satiated with my affliction.[e]
16 If I lift myself up,[f]
you hunt me as a fierce lion,[g]
and again[h] you display your power[i] against me.
Footnotes
- Job 10:15 sn The verbs “guilty” and “innocent” are actually the verbs “I am wicked,” and “I am righteous.”
- Job 10:15 tn The exclamation occurs only here and in Mic 7:1.
- Job 10:15 sn The action of lifting up the head is a symbol of pride and honor and self-respect (Judg 8:28)—like “hold your head high.” In 11:15 the one who is at peace with God lifts his head (face).
- Job 10:15 tn The expression שְׂבַע קָלוֹן (sevaʿ qalon) may be translated “full of shame.” The expression literally means “sated of ignominy” (or contempt [קַלַל, qalal]).
- Job 10:15 tn The last clause is difficult to fit into the verse. It translates easily enough: “and see my affliction.” Many commentators follow the suggestion of Geiger to read רְוֶה (reveh, “watered with”) instead of רְאֵה (reʾeh, “see”). This could then be interpreted adjectivally and parallel to the preceding line: “steeped/saturated with affliction.” This would also delete the final yod as dittography (E. Dhorme, Job, 152). But D. J. A. Clines notes more recent interpretations that suggest the form in the text is an orthographic variant of raweh meaning “satiated.” This makes any emendation unnecessary (and in fact that idea of “steeped” was not helpful any way because it indicated imbibing rather than soaking). The NIV renders it “and drowned in my affliction” although footnoting the other possibility from the MT, “aware of my affliction” (assuming the form could be adjectival). The LXX omits the last line.
- Job 10:16 tn The MT has the third person of the verb, “and he lifts himself up.” One might assume that the subject is “my head”—but that is rather far removed from the verb. It appears that Job is talking about himself in some way. Some commentators simply emend the text to make it first person. This has the support of Targum Job, which would be expected since it would be interpreting the passage in its context (see D. M. Stec, “The Targum Rendering of WYG’H in Job X 16, ” VT 34 [1984]: 367-8). Pope and Gordis make the word adjectival, modifying the subject: “proudly you hunt me,” but support is lacking. E. Dhorme thinks the line should be parallel to the two preceding it, and so suggests יָגֵּעַ (yageaʿ, “exhausted”) for יִגְאֶה (yigʾeh, “lift up”). The contextual argument is that Job has said that he cannot raise his head, but if he were to do so, God would hunt him down. God could be taken as the subject of the verb if the text is using enallage (shifting of grammatical persons within a discourse) for dramatic effect. Perhaps the initial third person was intended with respect within a legal context of witnesses and a complaint, but was switched to second person for direct accusation.
- Job 10:16 sn There is some ambiguity here: Job could be the lion being hunted by God, or God could be hunting Job like a lion hunts its prey. The point of the line is clear in either case.
- Job 10:16 tn The text uses two verbs without a coordinating conjunction: “then you return, you display your power.” This should be explained as a verbal hendiadys, the first verb serving adverbially in the clause (see further GKC 386-87 §120.g).
- Job 10:16 tn The form is the Hitpael of פָּלָא (palaʾ, “to be wonderful; to be surpassing; to be extraordinary”). Here in this stem it has the sense of “make oneself admirable, surpassing” or “render oneself powerful, glorious.” The text is ironic; the word that described God’s marvelous creation of Job is here used to describe God’s awesome destruction of Job.
New English Translation (NET)
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