Job 34:29 New English Translation
29 But if God[a] is quiet, who can condemn[b] him?
If he hides his face, then who can see him?
Yet[c] he is over the individual and the nation alike,[d]
Footnotes
- Job 34:29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Job 34:29 tn The verb in this position is somewhat difficult, although it does make good sense in the sentence—it is just not what the parallelism would suggest. So several emendations have been put forward, for which see the commentaries.
- Job 34:29 tn The line simply reads “and over a nation and over a man together.” But it must be the qualification for the points being made in the previous lines, namely, that even if God hides himself so no one can see, yet he is still watching over them all (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 222).
- Job 34:29 tn The word translated “alike” (Heb “together”) has bothered some interpreters. In the reading taken here it is acceptable. But others have emended it to gain a verb, such as “he visits” (Beer), “he watches over” (Duhm), “he is compassionate” (Kissane), etc. But it is sufficient to say “he is over.”
New English Translation (NET)
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