Job 20:3-5 New English Translation
3 When[a] I hear a reproof that dishonors[b] me,
then my understanding[c] prompts me to answer.[d]
4 “Surely you know[e] that it has been from old,
ever since humankind was placed[f] on the earth,
5 that the elation of the wicked is brief,[g]
the joy of the godless[h] lasts but a moment.[i]
Footnotes
- Job 20:3 tn There is no indication that this clause is to be subordinated to the next, other than the logical connection, and the use of the ו (vav) in the second half.
- Job 20:3 tn See Job 19:3.
- Job 20:3 tn The phrase actually has רוּחַ מִבִּינָתִי (ruakh mibbinati, “a spirit/wind/breath/impulse from my understanding”). Some translate it “out of my understanding a spirit answers me.” The idea is not that difficult, and so the many proposals to rewrite the text can be rejected. The spirit of his understanding prompts the reply.
- Job 20:3 tn To take this verb as a simple Qal and read it “answers me,” does not provide a clear idea. The form can just as easily be taken as a Hiphil, with the sense “causes me to answer.” It is Zophar who will “return” and who will “answer.”
- Job 20:4 tn The MT has “Do you not know?” The question can be interpreted as a rhetorical question affirming that Job must know this. The question serves to express the conviction that the contents are well-known to the audience (see GKC 474 §150.e).
- Job 20:4 tn Heb “from the putting of man on earth.” The infinitive is the object of the preposition, which is here temporal. If “man” is taken as the subjective genitive, then the verb would be given a passive translation. Here “man” is a generic, referring to “mankind” or “the human race.”
- Job 20:5 tn The expression in the text is “quite near.” This indicates that it is easily attained, and that its end is near.
- Job 20:5 tn For the discussion of חָנֵף (khanef, “godless”) see Job 8:13.
- Job 20:5 tn The phrase is “until a moment,” meaning it is short-lived. But see J. Barr, “Hebrew ʿad, especially at Job 1:18 and Neh 7:3, ” JSS 27 (1982): 177-88.
New English Translation (NET)
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