Job 33:17-19 New English Translation
17 to turn a person from his sin,[a]
and to cover a person’s pride.[b]
18 He spares a person’s life from corruption,[c]
his very life from crossing over[d] the river.
19 Or a person is chastened[e] by pain on his bed,
and with the continual strife of his bones,[f]
Footnotes
- Job 33:17 tc The MT simply has מַעֲשֶׂה (maʿaseh, “deed”). The LXX has “from his iniquity” which would have been מֵעַוְלָה (meʿavlah). The two letters may have dropped out by haplography. The MT is workable, but would have to mean “[evil] deeds.”
- Job 33:17 tc Here too the sense of the MT is difficult to recover. Some translations took it to mean that God hides pride from man. Many commentators changed יְכַסֶּה (yekhasseh, “covers”) to יְכַסֵּחַ (yekhasseakh, “he cuts away”), or יְכַלֶּה (yekhalleh, “he puts an end to”). The various emendations are not all that convincing.
- Job 33:18 tn A number of interpreters and translations take this as “the pit” (see Job 17:14; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Job 33:18 tc Here is another difficult line. The verb normally means “to pass through; to pass over,” and so this word would normally mean “from passing through [or over].” The word שֶׁלַח (shelakh) does at times refer to a weapon, but most commentators look for a parallel with “the pit [or corruption].” One suggestion is שְׁאוֹלָה (sheʾolah, “to Sheol”), proposed by Duhm. Dhorme thought it was שַׁלַח (shalakh) and referred to the passageway to the underworld (see M. Tsevat, VT 4 [1954]: 43; and Svi Rin, BZ 7 [1963]: 25). See discussion of options in HALOT 1517-18 s.v. IV שֶׁלַח. The idea of crossing the river of death fits the idea of the passage well, although the reading “to perish by the sword” makes sense and was followed by the NIV.
- Job 33:19 tc The MT has the passive form, and so a subject has to be added: “[a man] is chastened.” The LXX has the active form, indicating “[God] chastens,” but the object “a man” has to be added. It is understandable why the LXX thought this was active, within this sequence of verbs; and that is why it is the inferior reading.
- Job 33:19 tc The Kethib “the strife of his bones is continual,” whereas the Qere has “the multitude of his bones are firm.” The former is the better reading in this passage. It indicates that the pain is caused by the ongoing strife.
New English Translation (NET)
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