Eliphaz's Accusation and Counsel
Job 4:1-5:27
Job.4.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויען: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אליפז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- התימני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 15:1 (verbal): Eliphaz begins his second speech with the identical introductory formula ('Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said'), a direct verbal recurrence of the speech-introduction.
- Job 22:1 (verbal): Eliphaz opens another address with the same wording, repeating the stock phrase that introduces his speeches.
- Job 8:1 (structural): Bildad the Shuhite is introduced by the same dialogic formula ('Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said'), showing the consistent structural pattern for friends' replies.
- Job 11:1 (structural): Zophar the Naamathite's speech begins with the same introductory formula, another instance of the dialogue's standardized speaker-introduction.
- Job 32:6 (structural): Elihu is introduced with the same convention ('And Elihu the son of Barachel...answered and said'), marking a new respondent and mirroring the dialogue’s introductory pattern.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
- Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
Job.4.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנסה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- תלאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועצר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- במלין: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- יוכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
Parallels
- Proverbs 10:19 (thematic): Both contrast many words with the wisdom of holding back speech—emphasizing restraint of the tongue as prudent, paralleling the issue of whether one can refrain from speaking.
- Proverbs 17:27 (verbal): Says a man of knowledge restrains his words; echoes the theme of control (or lack of control) over speech found in Job 4:2.
- Psalm 39:1 (verbal): The psalmist resolves to guard his mouth and hold his tongue with a bridle, a close verbal and thematic parallel about restraining speech.
- Ecclesiastes 5:2 (thematic): Advises being careful and slow with one’s mouth before God, reflecting the broader wisdom concern with restraining spoken words that appears in Job 4:2.
- James 1:19 (thematic): Commands believers to be quick to hear and slow to speak—a New Testament articulation of the same theme about controlling speech and not speaking rashly.
Alternative generated candidates
- Shall a word be spoken to you, O weary man, and should one restrain speech? Who can?
- If one speaks to you, will you be weary? If you would restrain words, who can?
Job.4.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- יסרת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- וידים: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- רפות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- תחזק: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
Parallels
- Isaiah 35:3 (verbal): Uses the close Hebrew phrasing to ‘strengthen the weak hands’ (חזקו ידים רפות), a near verbal parallel to Job’s 'ידים רפות תחזק'.
- Isaiah 40:29 (thematic): Speaks of God giving strength to the faint and increasing power to those without might—same theme of strengthening the weak.
- Exodus 17:12 (structural): Narrative instance where Aaron and Hur literally support Moses’ hands so they remain strong in battle—an illustrative parallel to the idea of strengthening weak hands.
- Nehemiah 4:14 (verbal): Calls the people to 'be strengthened' and 'strengthen your hands' (חזקו ידיכם) in the face of opposition, echoing Job’s language of strengthening weak hands.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands.
- Behold, you have instructed many and strengthened feeble hands.
Job.4.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כושל: VERB,qal,ptc,-,m,sg
- יקימון: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מליך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וברכים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כרעות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תאמץ: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 35:3 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel—both speak of strengthening weak hands and making firm feeble/weak knees (very close wording to Job 4:4).
- Hebrews 12:12 (quotation): New Testament citation of Isaiah’s wording: commands to lift drooping hands and strengthen weak knees, echoing the same image of upholding the weak/stumbling.
- Ezekiel 34:4 (thematic): A shepherding critique: 'you have not strengthened the weak'—antithetical/thematic parallel about responsibility to uphold the weak and lame.
- 2 Corinthians 1:4 (thematic): Paul on God comforting us in affliction 'that we may comfort those in any affliction'—theme of strengthening/comforting the weak and afflicted (words/actions that uphold others).
- Psalm 82:3 (thematic): Call to 'defend the weak and fatherless'—thematic link to supporting and upholding those who are weak or stumbling.
Alternative generated candidates
- The one who stumbles you set on his feet; you made firm the tottering knees.
- You made the stumbling rise; you steadied knees that gave way.
Job.4.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- עתה: ADV
- תבוא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ותלא: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- תגע: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- עדיך: PREP,2,m,sg
- ותבהל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 17:12 (verbal): Moses' hands 'grew heavy' and began to fall, a close verbal and imagistic parallel to 'your hands will fall' (loss of strength in the hands).
- Nehemiah 4:10 (verbal): The community says 'our hands are weak' from fear and danger; echoes the connection between fear, weakness, and inability to act in Job 4:5.
- Proverbs 24:10 (thematic): 'If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small' — a thematic parallel about collapsing strength under trial like the hands that fail in Job 4:5.
- Isaiah 41:10 (thematic): God's command 'do not fear... I will strengthen you' functions as a theological counterpoint to the predicted fear and failing strength in Job 4:5, highlighting the motif of fear versus divine strengthening.
- Psalm 22:14-15 (thematic): Images of bodily collapse and extreme distress ('my strength is dried up... I am poured out like water') parallel the picture of physical weakening and terror conveyed in Job 4:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- But now it comes to you, and you are weary; it lays hold on your hand and you are dismayed.
- But now it comes upon you, and you are distressed; it touches you, and you are dismayed.
Job.4.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלא: PART
- יראתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,ms
- כסלתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,ms
- תקותך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,ms
- ותם: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg
- דרכיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 14:26 (verbal): Explicitly links 'fear of the LORD' with 'strong confidence' (place of refuge), closely mirroring Eliphaz's claim that fear/confidence are identical.
- Proverbs 10:9 (structural): Connects integrity/upright walking with security and sure footing, paralleling 'integrity of your ways' as Job's supposed hope.
- Isaiah 33:6 (thematic): Presents the fear of the LORD as the source of stability and sure counsel in times of trouble, echoing the idea that fear provides confidence and security.
- Psalm 112:7 (thematic): Describes the righteous (those who fear the LORD) as unafraid of bad tidings and established—illustrating the practical confidence Eliphaz attributes to such fear and integrity.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not your reverence your confidence, your hope and the integrity of your ways?
- Was not your reverence your confidence, your integrity the hope of your ways?
Job.4.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נא: PART
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- נקי: ADJ,m,sg
- אבד: VERB,qal,infabs
- ואיפה: CONJ+ADV,interr
- ישרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- נכחדו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 11:8 (verbal): Affirms the principle that the righteous are delivered from calamity while the wicked experience disaster, echoing Job 4:7's expectation that the innocent do not perish.
- Proverbs 28:18 (thematic): Expresses the retributive idea that the blameless are preserved but the perverse fall—similar to the rhetorical question in Job 4:7 about the fate of the innocent.
- Psalm 37:25 (thematic): The psalmist declares he has not seen the righteous forsaken, reflecting the same belief in divine protection of the upright found in Job 4:7.
- Job 21:7 (thematic): Job counters the retributive assumption of passages like Job 4:7 by observing that the wicked often prosper—this passage serves as an internal foil to the claim that the innocent never perish.
- Jeremiah 12:1 (allusion): Jeremiah's complaint about the apparent prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous parallels the crisis behind Job 4:7's rhetorical appeal to retributive justice.
Alternative generated candidates
- Remember now: who that was innocent perished? Or where were the upright ever cut off?
- Remember now: who that was innocent ever perished? Where were the upright destroyed?
Job.4.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כאשר: CONJ
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- חרשי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וזרעי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יקצרהו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Galatians 6:7 (verbal): Uses the sowing/ reaping principle ('whatever one sows, that will he also reap'), echoing Job's idea that evil actions bring matching consequences.
- Proverbs 22:8 (verbal): Wisdom proverb close in wording and theme: those who sow injustice/iniquity reap calamity, paralleling Job's observation about reaping the fruit of evil.
- Hosea 8:7 (verbal): Employs agricultural imagery of sowing and reaping (’they sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind’) to express that wicked deeds yield disastrous consequences.
- Hosea 10:13 (verbal): Speaks of plowing wickedness and reaping iniquity—language very close to Job 4:8's depiction of sowing toil/evil and reaping its outcome.
- Isaiah 3:10-11 (thematic): Contrasts the fate of the righteous and the wicked, asserting that people reap the results of their deeds—similar moral causality to Job's statement.
Alternative generated candidates
- As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.
- As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap it.
Job.4.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מנשמת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אלוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יאבדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,mp
- ומרוח: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אפו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff3ms
- יכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Job 34:14-15 (verbal): Explicitly links God’s spirit/breath with the dying of all flesh—'if he should gather to himself his spirit and his breath...All flesh shall perish'—closely echoing Job 4:9's language.
- Psalm 104:29-30 (verbal): Speaks of God taking away breath so creatures die and sending forth his spirit to create life—uses the same motif of divine breath as the cause of death and life.
- Psalm 33:6 (verbal): Depicts creation by the 'breath of his mouth,' using similar imagery of divine breath as a powerful creative/constitutive force.
- Ezekiel 37:9-10 (thematic): The valley of dry bones passage appeals to 'breath' to bring life—a thematic contrast to Job 4:9 that shows divine breath can either give or take life.
- Genesis 2:7 (thematic): God breathes the 'breath of life' into man at creation; thematically related as divine breath determining life and death, though here it is the origin of life rather than its removal.
Alternative generated candidates
- By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
- From the breath of God they perish, and from the blast of his wrath they are consumed.
Job.4.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שאגת: NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- אריה: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- וקול: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שחל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושני: CONJ+NUM,card,m,pl
- כפירים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נתעו: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Amos 3:8 (verbal): Shares the exact lion-roar formula (“The lion hath roared; who will not fear?”). Job’s line echoes the same motif of a roaring lion as a striking proclamation.
- Psalm 22:13 (thematic): Uses the image of a roaring, ravenous lion threatening the speaker; thematically parallels Job’s use of the lion-roar as a symbol of danger and terror.
- Psalm 58:6 (verbal): Calls for God to break the teeth of the wicked; echoes Job’s image of broken teeth (of young lions), linking divine retribution or the neutralizing of a predator’s power.
- Psalm 17:12 (thematic): Speaks of young lions crouching and ready to tear prey, paralleling Job’s reference to 'young lions' (כפירים) and the predator imagery surrounding them.
Alternative generated candidates
- The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
- The roaring of the lion and the voice of the loud lion are silenced; the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Job.4.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ליש: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אבד: VERB,qal,infabs
- מבלי: PREP
- טרף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- לביא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יתפרדו: VERB,hitp,imperfect,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 19:2-9 (structural): Uses an extended lament/metaphor of princes as lions whose strength is broken and whose offspring are taken or scattered—closely parallels Job’s image of a predator losing prey and cubs being dispersed.
- Nahum 2:11-12 (verbal): Speaks of the lions’ den and the feeding place of young lions being desolate—echoes Job’s motif of a predator deprived of prey and its young left without sustenance.
- Genesis 49:9-10 (allusion): Jacob’s blessing describes Judah as a lion and refers to its ‘whelps’ (descendants); Job’s image of cubs scattered stands in ironic contrast to this promise of strength and continuity.
- Psalm 17:12-13 (thematic): Portrays hostile, ravening lions and young lions lurking to seize prey—shares the same predatory imagery and the theme of vulnerability when prey is lost or attack fails.
Alternative generated candidates
- The lion is bereft of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
- A lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
Job.4.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואלי: CONJ+PREP+PRON,1,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יגנב: VERB,qal,imf,3,m,sg
- ותקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- אזני: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- שמץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מנהו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 4:13 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same nocturnal revelation—v.13 begins 'in thoughts from the visions of the night,' expanding the secret thing 'brought' in v.12 and describing the vision that followed.
- Job 33:14-16 (thematic): Elihu's claim that God sometimes speaks 'in a dream, in a vision of the night' and communicates secretly to men parallels Eliphaz's report of a secret nocturnal communication received by his ear.
- Daniel 2:19 (verbal): Daniel reports that 'the secret was revealed... in a night vision,' echoing the motif of hidden information or revelation brought to a man in sleep/night, similar to Job 4:12's 'a thing was secretly brought to me.'
- Genesis 28:12 (allusion): Jacob's nocturnal vision of the ladder—God revealing divine truth during sleep—parallels the motif of receiving a secret or revelation by night as in Job 4:12.
Alternative generated candidates
- A word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it.
- A word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it.
Job.4.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בשעפים: PREP
- מחזינות: VERB,piel,part,-,f,pl
- לילה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בנפל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תרדמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- אנשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Job 33:15 (verbal): Almost identical language: God communicates in 'a dream, in a vision of the night' when deep sleep falls on people — direct verbal parallel within Job.
- Job 7:14 (thematic): Speaks of sleep followed by terrifying dreams and visions; connects the theme of nighttime dreams/visions as disturbing or revelatory experiences.
- Numbers 12:6 (thematic): God's statement that He reveals Himself 'in a vision' and 'in a dream' to prophets — thematically links night visions/dreams with divine revelation.
- Daniel 7:1 (structural): Narrative introduction describing Daniel's dream/visions 'upon his bed' (night visions) as the setting for prophetic revelation — a comparable structural motif.
- Matthew 1:20 (thematic): New Testament instance of God communicating via a dream to Joseph; continues the biblical motif of divine messages delivered through nighttime dreams/visions.
Alternative generated candidates
- In visions of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men,
- In visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
Job.4.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פחד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קראני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+OBJ,1,sg
- ורעדה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ורב: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg
- עצמותי: NOUN,f,pl,poss1
- הפחיד: VERB,hifil,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 55:5 (verbal): Uses the same formula of 'fear and trembling' and the sense of overwhelming horror — close verbal and emotional parallel to Job's bodily terror.
- Philippians 2:12 (verbal): New Testament uses the phrase 'work out your salvation with fear and trembling' — echoes the OT collocation of 'fear and trembling' to denote profound awe or dread.
- Nahum 2:10 (thematic): Describes intense physical effects of terror ('the heart melts, and the knees smite together'), paralleling Job's depiction of trembling that affects the body.
- Isaiah 13:7 (thematic): Speaks of bodies and hearts failing under terror ('all hands shall be faint, and every man's heart shall melt'), thematically similar to Job's shaken bones.
- Hebrews 12:21 (allusion): Refers to an OT moment of overwhelming fear before God ('I exceedingly fear and quake'), echoing the motif of fear and trembling in the face of a terrifying revelation as in Job 4:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- fear seized me, and trembling, and all my bones were made to shake.
- terror seized me, and trembling, and my bones were greatly shaken.
Job.4.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ורוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יחלף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- תסמר: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- שערת: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בשרי: NOUN,m,sg,suff
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 28:13-15 (thematic): A spirit/ghost appears and provokes fear before a man (Saul speaks with Samuel's spirit); parallels Job's report of a spirit passing before his face and the resulting terror.
- Daniel 10:7-9 (thematic): Daniel's vision produces a violent bodily reaction—trembling, loss of strength, altered appearance—which parallels Job's description of hair standing on end at a spirit's presence.
- Ezekiel 1:4-7 (structural): A moving wind/spirit and a terrifying visionary appearance characterize Ezekiel's encounter; similar motif of a spirit/ruach moving and eliciting awe and physical disturbance.
- Psalm 55:5 (Hebrew Psalm 55:5) (verbal): Language of terror and bodily fear—'dread and trembling'/'my flesh trembleth'—echoes Job's bodily reaction ('the hair of my flesh stood up') to a supernatural presence.
- Revelation 1:17 (thematic): John falls 'as one dead' in response to a heavenly vision; like Job's hair standing on end, this registers the common biblical motif of intense physical collapse or fear in the face of a theophany/vision.
Alternative generated candidates
- A spirit passed before my face; the hairs of my flesh stood up.
- A spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood on end.
Job.4.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יעמד: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- אכיר: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- מראהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3ms-suff
- תמונה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לנגד: PREP
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- דממה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וקול: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשמע: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kings 19:11-12 (verbal): Elijah’s encounter: after dramatic phenomena there is 'the sound of a low whisper' (a 'still small voice')—parallels Job 4:16’s motif of silence followed by a voice.
- Daniel 10:7-9 (thematic): Daniel describes seeing a terrifying vision, being unable to stand or clearly perceive the form, and then hearing words—echoing the combination of an indistinct vision and an ensuing voice.
- Job 33:14-16 (thematic): Elihu (within Job) explains that God communicates in dreams and visions, disturbing silence and then speaking—a theological parallel to Eliphaz’s reported vision and the silent-then-voiced encounter.
- Exodus 33:20,23 (verbal): God’s declaration that no one may see His face (and Moses seeing only God’s back) resonates with the inability to discern the divine form in Job 4:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- It stood still, but I could not discern its form; a shape was before my eyes—silence—then I heard a voice:
- It stood still, but I could not discern its form; a likeness was before my eyes—silence—then I heard a voice:
Job.4.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- האנוש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מאלוה: PREP
- יצדק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אם: CONJ
- מעשהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suf3m
- יטהר: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- גבר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- Job 9:2-3 (thematic): Job likewise asks rhetorically whether a man can be right before God, pressing the same theme that mortals cannot claim righteousness or answer God’s judgment.
- Proverbs 20:9 (verbal): A parallel rhetorical question — 'Who can say, I have made my heart clean?' — which similarly doubts a human’s ability to claim purity before God.
- Isaiah 64:6 (thematic): Contrasts human 'righteousness' with God’s holiness by depicting human deeds as impure or insufficient, echoing Job’s claim that mortals cannot be pure before their Maker.
- Romans 3:10-12 (thematic): Paul’s summary that 'none is righteous' reflects the same conviction that humans are not righteous before God, applying the Old Testament critique of human moral capacity in a theological argument.
Alternative generated candidates
- Can mortal man be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
- Can man be righteous before God? Can a mortal be pure before his Maker?
Job.4.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הן: PART
- בעבדיו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+suff-3ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- יאמין: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ובמלאכיו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRSuf:3,m,sg
- ישים: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- תהלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 104:4 (verbal): Speaks of God’s angels/ministers (Hebrew מְשָׁרְתִים); echoes the language of 'servants' and 'angels' and their role under God, a close lexical parallel to Job’s wording.
- Psalm 103:20 (thematic): Portrays angels as obedient executors of God’s will — a thematic counterpoint to Eliphaz’s claim that God 'sets his angels to folly,' highlighting different views of angels’ faithfulness.
- Job 1:6–7 (structural): Depicts the heavenly assembly where 'sons of God'/angels appear before Yahweh; connects to Job’s broader motif of divine scrutiny and the status of celestial beings in the narrative.
- Hebrews 1:7 (allusion): New Testament citation of Old Testament imagery about angels as God’s servants/ministers; relates to Job’s remark by invoking the same tradition of how angels function relative to God (though applied in a Christological argument).
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, he does not put faith in his servants; even among his angels he finds fault.
- Behold, in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error.
Job.4.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אף: ADV
- שכני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1cs
- חמר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בעפר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יסודם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3mp
- ידכאום: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- לפני: PREP
- עש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 64:8 (verbal): Uses the clay/potter imagery ('we are the clay') like Job’s 'houses of clay,' emphasizing human dependence and fragility before God.
- Jeremiah 18:6 (verbal): 'Like clay in the potter’s hand'—another close image of human malleability and vulnerability comparable to 'houses of clay... whose foundation is in the dust.'
- Psalm 103:14 (thematic): Speaks of human frailty—'he remembers that we are dust'—paralleling Job’s emphasis on humans as clay/dust and easily crushed.
- Psalm 90:5–6 (thematic): Portrays human life as transient and fragile ('you sweep them away; they are like a dream' / 'like grass'), echoing Job’s point about the precariousness of those in 'houses of clay.'
Alternative generated candidates
- How much less those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth?
- How much more those who dwell in houses of clay—whose foundation is in the dust—who are crushed like a moth!
Job.4.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מבקר: PREP
- לערב: PREP
- יכתו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- מבלי: PREP
- משים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יאבדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,mp
Parallels
- Job 14:1-2 (thematic): Speaks of human transience and sudden perishing—'man born of woman... few days,' like a flower that withers, echoing Job 4:20's theme of swift destruction.
- Job 7:6-7 (structural): Uses imagery of the swiftness and brevity of life ('my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle; my life is but a breath'), paralleling the suddenness and short span expressed in Job 4:20.
- Psalm 103:15-16 (thematic): Compares human life to grass and a passing flower—emphasizing mortality and quick end, a common biblical motif with Job 4:20's portrayal of perishing from morning to evening.
- Isaiah 40:6-8 (verbal): Declares 'all flesh is grass' and that grass withers, underscoring the transient nature of human life in language closely related to the imagery of sudden perishing in Job 4:20.
- Psalm 39:5-6 (thematic): Reflects on the brevity and futility of life ('thou hast made my days as an handbreadth... every man at his best state is altogether vanity'), resonating with Job 4:20's depiction of rapid, unnoticed loss of life.
Alternative generated candidates
- They are broken from morning to evening; they perish forever, with no one regarding.
- They are broken in the morning and crushed at evening; they perish forever without insight.
Job.4.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלא: PART
- נסע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יתרם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- בם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ימותו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- בחכמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 4:9 (verbal): In the same Eliphaz speech God’s action is said to make the wicked perish (“By the blast of God they perish”), echoing 4:21’s assertion that they die (not by wisdom).
- Job 18:20-21 (thematic): Bildad’s depiction of the fate of the wicked—sudden ruin and disappearance—parallels Eliphaz’s claim that the wicked die and suffer destruction.
- Psalm 37:20 (thematic): Affirms that the wicked will perish and vanish like smoke, a parallel theme of the abrupt end of the godless found in Job 4:21.
- Proverbs 1:32 (thematic): Links death to folly—'the turning away of the simple shall slay them'—resonating with 4:21’s note that their death is not due to wisdom.
- Proverbs 14:12 (thematic): States that paths seeming right to people can lead to death, echoing the contrast between lack of wisdom and the fatal outcome suggested in Job 4:21.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not their tent-peg plucked up within them? They die — and without wisdom.
- Is not their tent-peg torn up within them? They die—without wisdom.
Job.5.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- נא: PART
- היש: PART,exist
- עונך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- מקדשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תפנה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 23:3-4 (thematic): Both passages treat the problem of where to appeal and who will answer. Job expresses a desire to find God’s presence to bring his case, paralleling Eliphaz’s rhetorical question about who will answer or to which ‘holy ones’ one can turn.
- Psalm 82:1 (allusion): Psalm 82 depicts God in the assembly/congregation of the mighty (divine council). Eliphaz’s reference to ‘holy ones’ (מקדשים) echoes this council imagery—raising the question of human recourse before heavenly beings.
- Job 1:6 (allusion): Job 1:6 portrays the ‘sons of God’ presenting themselves before Yahweh, reflecting the biblical motif of a heavenly assembly. Eliphaz’s mention of turning to ‘holy ones’ implicitly recalls this celestial court context.
- Zechariah 3:1 (thematic): Zechariah 3:1 presents a heavenly courtroom scene with an accuser and the need for an advocate. That courtroom imagery parallels Eliphaz’s challenge—if one calls, who among the heavenly/intercessory figures will answer or intercede?
Alternative generated candidates
- Call now—who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
- Call now—who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Job.5.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- לאויל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהרג: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כעש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופתה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תמית: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- קנאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 27:4 (verbal): Pairs wrath/anger with envy as destructive forces; closely parallels Job’s coupling of rage and jealousy as deadly.
- Proverbs 14:30 (thematic): Describes envy as internal corruption ('rottenness of the bones'), echoing Job’s depiction of envy as ruinous and life‑threatening.
- Genesis 4:8 (thematic): The Cain‑and‑Abel episode provides a concrete narrative instance where jealousy leads to murder, illustrating Job’s general claim that envy kills.
- Proverbs 6:34 (verbal): Explicitly links jealousy to rage and violent retribution, paralleling the idea that jealousy drives one to kill.
- James 3:16 (thematic): New Testament parallel stating that envying and strife produce disorder and every evil work, echoing the destructive consequences of envy in Job.
Alternative generated candidates
- For wrath kills a fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
- For the wrath of the fool kills him, and jealousy slays the simple.
Job.5.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- א: PRT
- ני: PRON,1,sg,clitic
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אויל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משריש: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- ואקוב: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- נוהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- פתאם: ADV
Parallels
- Psalm 92:7 (verbal): Speaks of the wicked flourishing for a time and then being cut off—parallels the image of one who takes root but is suddenly removed.
- Psalm 37:35-36 (thematic): The psalmist reports seeing the wicked prosper and then vanish unexpectedly, echoing the observation of a fool taking root and then being cursed.
- Job 21:18 (thematic): Describes the fate of the wicked as ephemeral—likened to stubble or chaff swept away—paralleling sudden ruin after apparent establishment.
- Proverbs 10:25 (thematic): When the storm passes the wicked are no more, while the righteous are established—reflects sudden destruction of those who seemed rooted.
- Job 8:11-12 (verbal): Bildad’s plant imagery (papyrus/reeds that wither quickly despite vigor) parallels the motif of something that takes root yet is suddenly cut down.
Alternative generated candidates
- I have seen the fool take root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
- I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
Job.5.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ירחקו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בניו: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- מישע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וידכאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בשער: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- מציל: VERB,qal,part,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:32 (thematic): As part of the covenant curses, children are taken away and the people are left powerless and longing—paralleling the imagery of offspring removed from the gate and no one to rescue them.
- Job 19:14–19 (structural): Job laments abandonment by kin and friends and the absence of a helper or advocate—echoing the theme of isolation and ‘no savior’ in Eliphaz’s description.
- Ezekiel 7:19 (thematic): In prophetic announcements of judgment wealth and defenses cannot save the people; there is no deliverer—paralleling the hopelessness expressed by ‘and there is no savior.’
- Lamentations 5:3–4 (thematic): Lamentations pictures children and the young struck down and the community brought to public shame and helplessness under siege, resonating with the image of offspring crushed and no rescuer at the gate.
Alternative generated candidates
- His children are far from safety and are crushed in the gate; there is no one to rescue them.
- His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and no one delivers them.
Job.5.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- קצירו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3ms
- רעב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- מצנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יקחהו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg+PRON,3,m,sg
- ושאף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- צמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חילם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prsfx=3mp
Parallels
- Proverbs 6:30 (thematic): Expresses similar moral observation that theft committed to satisfy hunger is treated differently—links hunger as motive for taking what belongs to another.
- Job 24:8-10 (structural): Within the same book, these verses depict social disorder—people seizing others' property, fields and flocks, and the hungry/poor being plundered, echoing the image of harvest taken by the starving.
- Deuteronomy 24:19-22 (thematic): Prescribes leaving gleanings of the harvest for the poor and stranger, presenting the legal/ethical counterpoint to the desperate seizure of another's crop implied in Job 5:5.
- Ruth 2:2-3 (thematic): Narrative example of a poor/widowed woman gleaning in a field because of famine and need—an instance of hunger-driven access to others' harvest rather than outright theft.
Alternative generated candidates
- The hungry consume his harvest and even seize it from among thorns; the thirsty snatch away his goods.
- The hungry consume his harvest; at noon the devourers feed on him, and they will not be satisfied.
Job.5.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- יצא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מעפר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- און: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומאדמה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יצמח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עמל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Amos 3:6 (thematic): Asserts that calamity does not occur by chance but comes from the LORD (or has a divine cause), echoing Job 5:6's claim that trouble does not simply 'sprout from the ground.'
- Isaiah 45:7 (thematic): Speaks of God's sovereign role in creating calamity as well as well-being, resonating with Job's assertion that affliction is not accidental but has a source beyond mere earth.
- Proverbs 16:4 (thematic): Declares that God has ordained everything, including the wicked for the day of trouble, aligning with the idea that misfortune does not arise spontaneously from the ground.
- Jeremiah 18:7-10 (structural): Describes how a nation's destiny (disaster or prosperity) follows from its behavior and God's response—paralleling Job 5:6's implication that calamity has causes tied to divine justice or moral order.
- Job 4:7 (verbal): Within the same book, Eliphaz (in Job 4) links human suffering to moral cause and effect ('Consider: who, being innocent, has ever perished?'), echoing the causal logic of 5:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- For affliction does not rise from the dust, nor does trouble spring from the ground.
- For calamity does not come forth from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground;
Job.5.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לעמל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יולד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ובני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- רשף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יגביהו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- עוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 14:1 (verbal): Very close verbal/theme: 'Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble' echoes Job 5:7's assertion that man is born to trouble.
- Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 (thematic): Reflects the same theme of human toil and vexation—much labor yields sorrow and no lasting gain, paralleling the idea that life is marked by trouble.
- Genesis 3:17-19 (thematic): Provides etiological background: the curse on the ground makes human life one of toil and hardship, thematically explaining why humans are 'born to trouble.'
- Psalm 90:10 (thematic): Speaks of human frailty and life marked by labor and sorrow ('the days of our years... are labor and sorrow'), echoing Job's observation about the lot of humanity.
Alternative generated candidates
- For man is born to toil, and like sparks the sons of his striving fly upward.
- yet man is born to toil, as sparks fly upward.
Job.5.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אדרש: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- אל: NEG
- אל: NEG
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשים: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- דברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 16:3 (verbal): Explicitly parallels the language of committing one's work/cause to the LORD—'Commit thy works unto the LORD' echoes 'to God would I commit my cause.'
- Psalm 37:5 (verbal): 'Commit thy way unto the LORD' parallels Job's resolve to seek God and entrust his cause to God—same act of entrusting life/rights to God.
- Psalm 26:1 (thematic): A plea for God’s judgment—'Judge me, O LORD' reflects the theme of appealing to God as arbiter of one's cause and integrity.
- Job 16:19 (structural): Within Job the speaker likewise appeals upward ('my witness is in heaven')—both verses show Job turning to God as ultimate witness/judge for his case.
- 1 Peter 5:7 (thematic): 'Casting all your care upon him' expresses the same theological idea of entrusting one’s burdens and affairs to God as Job declares in 5:8.
Alternative generated candidates
- But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.
- But as for me, I would seek God; to God I would commit my case.
Job.5.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- גדלות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- חקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נפלאות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- עד: PREP
- אין: PART,neg
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 9:10 (verbal): Very close verbal parallel — speaks of God doing great/wondrous works that cannot be numbered or searched out (same theme and similar wording).
- Psalm 145:3 (verbal): Declares God's greatness and that his greatness is unsearchable (Hebrew uses 'גודל' and 'אין חקר'), echoing Job's language about God's inscrutable wonders.
- Psalm 40:5 (thematic): Speaks of the many wonderful works of the LORD and how his purposes toward us cannot be enumerated — parallels the idea of innumerable, marvelous acts of God.
- Romans 11:33 (allusion): Paul's doxology about the depth and unsearchable nature of God's wisdom and judgments echoes the OT theme of God's wondrous, inscrutable works.
- Psalm 147:5 (thematic): Affirms the greatness and infinite understanding/power of God, resonating with Job's emphasis on God's vast, unsearchable deeds.
Alternative generated candidates
- He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
- He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
Job.5.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מטר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושלח: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- חוצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 147:8 (verbal): Speaks of God covering the heavens with clouds and supplying rain for the earth—language closely parallel to God giving rain and sending waters upon the land.
- Psalm 65:9-10 (thematic): Describes God visiting and watering the earth, enriching it and preparing grain—thematic parallel emphasizing God as provider of rain and fertility.
- Deuteronomy 11:14 (thematic): God's promise to give the early and latter rains so crops may grow—shares the theme of divine provision of rain for the land.
- Genesis 8:22 (structural): After the flood God guarantees the regularity of seasons and conditions for sowing and reaping—connects to the idea of God controlling rain and the sustenance of the earth.
- Joel 2:23 (verbal): Assures Zion that God will send the early rain and latter rain—verbal and thematic parallel about God sending rain to revive the land.
Alternative generated candidates
- He gives rain upon the earth and sends waters upon the fields.
- He gives rain upon the earth and sends waters upon the fields.
Job.5.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לשום: VERB,qal,inf
- שפלים: ADJ,m,pl
- למרום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וקדרים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שגבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 2:8 (verbal): Hannah’s song uses near-identical language about God raising the poor from the dust and lifting the needy, mirroring Job’s image of God exalting the lowly.
- Psalm 113:7-8 (verbal): Psalm praises Yahweh who raises the poor and lifts the needy, closely echoing Job’s theme of God’s reversal of human fortunes.
- Isaiah 61:1-3 (thematic): Isaiah speaks of comforting mourners and bestowing honor and gladness—parallel to Job’s motif of God elevating the lowly and rescuing those in sorrow.
- Luke 1:52-53 (allusion): Mary’s Magnificat echoes the OT pattern of God casting down the mighty and exalting the humble, reflecting Job’s theme of social reversal by divine action.
- 1 Peter 5:6 (thematic): Peter exhorts believers to humble themselves so God may lift them up, applying Job’s theological principle of God’s exaltation of the lowly to Christian ethics.
Alternative generated candidates
- He lifts up the lowly to high places and rescues those whose spirits were bowed.
- He lifts the lowly to high places and lifts up those bowed down to safety.
Job.5.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מפר: VERB,qal,ptc,ms,sg
- מחשבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ערומים: ADJ,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תעשינה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- ידיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,m,pl
- תושיה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 33:10-11 (verbal): God frustrates the plans/counsels of nations and peoples—language closely parallels Job 5:12’s idea that God thwarts the devices of the crafty.
- Proverbs 21:30 (verbal): States that no plan can succeed against the LORD, echoing Job’s assertion that God makes the schemes of the crafty come to nothing.
- Isaiah 8:10 (verbal): “Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted…” — a direct verbal/thematic echo of plans being frustrated by divine action.
- Proverbs 19:21 (thematic): Affirms that many human plans exist but the LORD’s purpose prevails, reflecting the theme that human schemes are ultimately overruled by God.
- Job 12:14-16 (structural): Within Job’s own book: emphasizes God’s control over building and destroying and the inability of human projects to stand against his will, a close thematic parallel to 5:12.
Alternative generated candidates
- He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands do not accomplish their schemes.
- He thwarts the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot carry out their plans.
Job.5.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חכמים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בערמם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ועצת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- נפתלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נמהרה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 33:10 (verbal): Uses near-identical language about God bringing the counsel/plans of peoples to nothing — parallel idea of God thwarting human schemes.
- Proverbs 21:30 (thematic): Asserts that no human wisdom or counsel can stand against the Lord, echoing Job's claim that the crafty are caught by their own devices under God's sovereignty.
- Isaiah 8:10 (verbal): Declares that plotted counsel will be broken and words will not succeed — similar wording and the motif of counsel failing in the face of divine action.
- Psalm 2:1–4 (thematic): Describes nations and rulers plotting in vain and God’s sovereign laughter/derision, thematically matching the idea that human cunning is ultimately overruled by God.
Alternative generated candidates
- He seizes the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the treacherous comes to ruin.
- He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning comes to nothing.
Job.5.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יומם: ADV
- יפגשו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- וכלילה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ימששו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בצהרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:10 (verbal): Near verbal parallel: both speak of groping/stumbling as the blind and stumbling at noonday as if it were night (’we grope… we stumble at noon as in the night’).
- Amos 8:9 (allusion): Image of darkness at midday—'I will make the sun go down at noon'—echoes Job’s motif of darkness and disorientation in broad daylight.
- Proverbs 4:19 (thematic): Speaks of the way of the wicked as deep darkness so that they do not know where they stumble, paralleling the theme of moral/spiritual blindness and stumbling in light.
- Psalm 82:5 (verbal): Describes lack of knowledge and walking about in darkness (stumbling/ignorance), resonating with Job’s depiction of people groping and being unable to see even at midday.
Alternative generated candidates
- By day they meet with darkness; at noon they grope as in the night.
- By day they meet with darkness, and at noon they grope as in the night.
Job.5.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישע: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מחרב: PREP
- מפיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ומיד: CONJ+PREP
- חזק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אביון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 22:22-23 (verbal): Warns against robbing the poor because the LORD will plead their cause and take vengeance on oppressors—parallels Job’s assertion that God saves the poor from the hand of the mighty.
- Psalm 72:4,12 (thematic): Speaks of the ruler who will judge the poor, save the needy, and break the oppressor—echoes the theme of divine rescue and protection for the poor in Job 5:15.
- Psalm 34:6-7 (thematic): ‘This poor man cried, and the LORD heard… the angel of the LORD delivers them’—a direct portrayal of God’s deliverance of the afflicted that parallels Job’s claim that God rescues the needy from danger.
- Isaiah 41:17 (thematic): Promises that when the poor and needy cry, God will hear and help them—resonates with Job’s depiction of God saving the lowly from powerful adversaries.
- Psalm 9:9-10 (thematic): Declares the LORD a refuge for the oppressed who trust in him and that he will not forget the cry of the afflicted—parallels Job’s theme of God’s care and rescue of the poor.
Alternative generated candidates
- He saves the needy from the sword, from the mouth of the oppressor and from the hand of the mighty.
- He delivers the needy from the sword, from their mouth; and from the hand of the mighty he redeems them.
Job.5.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לדל: VERB,qal,inf
- תקוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועלתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- קפצה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- פיה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f
Parallels
- Psalm 9:18 (9:19 Heb.) (verbal): Both texts speak nearly the same idea in Hebrew: the needy/poor will not be forgotten and their hope will not perish — closely echoes Job's 'the poor have hope.'
- Proverbs 10:28 (thematic): Contrasts hope and ruin: 'The hope of the righteous is gladness, the expectation of the wicked shall perish' — parallels Job's theme of hope for the lowly and the defeat/silencing of the wicked.
- Romans 3:19 (verbal): Uses the image of stopping the mouth ('every mouth may be stopped') in the context of judgment — parallels Job's phrase about iniquity's mouth being silenced by divine justice.
- Psalm 146:7-9 (thematic): Describes God executing justice for the oppressed, giving food to the hungry and freeing the prisoners — thematically parallels Job's assurance that the poor gain hope and the unjust are checked.
Alternative generated candidates
- So the poor have hope, and injustice shall close its mouth.
- So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
Job.5.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- אשרי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אנוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יוכחנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אלוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומוסר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- תמאס: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:11-12 (quotation): Very close in thought and phrasing: do not despise the LORD’s chastening, for the LORD disciplines the one he loves (father/son corrective discipline).
- Hebrews 12:5-6 (quotation): New Testament citation of Proverbs 3:11–12 applied to believers: 'My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord… For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth'—parallels Job’s affirmation that the corrected man is blessed.
- Psalm 94:12 (verbal): Uses near-identical language: 'Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD,' linking blessing with God’s correction as in Job 5:17.
- Hebrews 12:7-11 (thematic): Develops the theme that God’s discipline is loving, corrective, and for our benefit (training/fruit of righteousness), resonating with Job’s positive appraisal of divine chastening.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, blessed is the man whom God reproves; do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
- Behold, blessed is the man whom God reproves; do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
Job.5.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- יכאיב: VERB,piel,imf,3,m,sg
- ויחבש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ימחץ: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וידיו: NOUN,f,pl,suff3ms
- תרפינה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 147:3 (thematic): Speaks of God healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds, echoing the theme of divine wounding followed by restoration in Job 5:18.
- Psalm 103:3 (verbal): Attributes healing of diseases to God (‘who heals all your diseases’), paralleling Job’s affirmation that God wounds but also heals.
- Jeremiah 30:17 (verbal): God promises to restore health and heal the wounds of Israel—language of healing after affliction closely matching the healing aspect of Job 5:18.
- Isaiah 53:5 (thematic): Portrays suffering and its redemptive/curative outcome (‘by his wounds we are healed’), resonating with the paradox in Job 5:18 of divine affliction bringing restoration.
- Job 33:24-25 (thematic): Elihu’s description of God delivering and renewing a sufferer’s flesh parallels the motif within Job of divine affliction followed by rescue and healing.
Alternative generated candidates
- For he wounds and then binds up; he strikes down, and his hands make whole.
- For he wounds, and he binds up; he strikes, and his hands heal.
Job.5.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בשש: PREP+NUM,card,sg
- צרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יצילך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,suf,2,ms
- ובשבע: CONJ+PREP+NUM,card,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- יגע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 91:10 (verbal): Shares near-verbatim assurance of protection—'no evil shall befall you' / 'no plague shall come near your tent' echoes Job’s 'no evil shall touch you.'
- Psalm 34:19 (thematic): Affirms the theme that the righteous endure many troubles but God delivers them from all—parallel to 'in six troubles he will deliver you.'
- Isaiah 54:17 (thematic): Promises divine protection against hostile forces—'no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper' resonates with Job’s assurance of being untouched by evil.
- Exodus 12:13 (thematic): The Passover promise that God will 'pass over' and no plague will destroy the protected household parallels the motif of deliverance from calamity.
- Deuteronomy 7:15 (thematic): God’s promise to remove sickness and secure Israel from harm echoes the assurance that God delivers and keeps the righteous from evil.
Alternative generated candidates
- In six troubles he will deliver you; in seven no evil shall touch you.
- In six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven no evil shall touch you.
Job.5.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברעב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פדך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ממות: PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובמלחמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מידי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 33:19 (verbal): Speaks almost verbatim of God rescuing the soul from death and preserving life in famine — a close verbal and thematic parallel to Job 5:20.
- Proverbs 10:3 (verbal): States that the LORD will not let the righteous go hungry (literally 'suffer the soul of the righteous to famish'), echoing Job's promise of deliverance from famine.
- Psalm 91:5-7 (thematic): Promises protection from deadly threats (terror, arrows, pestilence) so that disaster 'shall not come near'—paralleling Job's rescue 'in war from the sword.'
- Isaiah 43:2 (thematic): Assures God's presence and preservation through life‑threatening perils (waters, fire), thematically matching the idea of divine rescue from death in famine or battle.
- Psalm 34:19 (thematic): Affirms that though the righteous face many troubles, the LORD delivers them from them all — a general promise of rescue that underlies Job's statement about deliverance from famine and the sword.
Alternative generated candidates
- He will redeem you from death in famine and from the power of the sword in war.
- In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
Job.5.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בשוט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- תחבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,fs
- ולא: CONJ
- תירא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- משד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- יבוא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 31:20 (verbal): Speaks of being hidden/protected in God's presence 'from accusing tongues'—directly parallels Job's promise of protection from the lash of the tongue.
- Isaiah 54:17 (verbal): Promises that 'every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn'—parallels Job's assurance that one need not fear the attack of the tongue.
- Proverbs 21:23 (thematic): 'Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble'—connects with the theme of the tongue as a source of danger and the hope of avoiding its harm.
- Proverbs 18:21 (thematic): 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue'—underscores the destructive potential of speech that Job seeks protection from.
- Psalm 64:3-4 (thematic): Describes tongues as sharpened weapons ('they sharpen their tongues like a sword')—echoes the imagery of verbal assault and the need for deliverance found in Job 5:21.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not fear sudden devastation when it comes.
- You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue; you shall not fear the destruction when it comes.
Job.5.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לשד: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולכפן: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תשחק: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ומחית: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- תירא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 91:5-7 (thematic): Both promise freedom from fear of deadly threats (terror, pestilence, 'beasts of the earth'); a theme of divine protection so the righteous need not fear calamity.
- Proverbs 3:25-26 (thematic): Advises not to fear sudden alarm or destruction because the LORD is your confidence and protector—paralleling Job’s assurance against fearing famine and predators.
- Isaiah 41:10 (thematic): God’s command 'Fear not' coupled with the promise of help and upholdment echoes the confidence expressed in Job 5:22 toward danger and destruction.
- Psalm 46:2-3 (thematic): Declares no fear even if the earth gives way or waters roar—a poetic parallel to laughing at destruction and famine, reflecting trust that overcomes natural catastrophe.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall laugh at ruin and famine; you shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
- You will laugh at the destroyer and at famine; do not fear the beasts of the land.
Job.5.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- עם: PREP
- אבני: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בריתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- וחית: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- השלמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 2:18 (verbal): Speaks of God making a ‘covenant’ with the beasts of the field (and birds/creeping things) — close verbal parallel to Job’s image of a covenant/peace with the field’s creatures.
- Genesis 9:12-17 (structural): The Noahic covenant is established with Noah, his descendants and 'every living creature' — a structural parallel of divine covenantal relationship that includes animals.
- Isaiah 11:6-9 (thematic): Eschatological vision of harmony between humans and animals (wolf with lamb, lion with ox) — thematically parallels Job’s motif of peace between a person and the beasts of the field.
- Ezekiel 34:25 (thematic): God promises 'a covenant of peace' and protection so that wild beasts no longer harm the people — closely parallels Job’s promise of peace with the beasts under a covenantal frame.
Alternative generated candidates
- For you shall make covenant with the stones of the field, and the animals of the field shall be at peace with you.
- For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild beasts shall be at peace with you.
Job.5.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אהלך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2fs
- ופקדת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- נוך: NOUN,m,sg,suff2m
- ולא: CONJ
- תחטא: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 4:8 (verbal): Both speak of lying down in peace and safe repose under God's care ('I will both lay me down in peace' parallels 'thy tent is in peace').
- Proverbs 3:23-24 (verbal): Promises of safe walking and untroubled sleep ('then shalt thou walk in thy way safely... when thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid') echo Job's assurance of peaceful dwelling and freedom from sin/fear.
- Psalm 91:1-2 (thematic): The motif of dwelling in God’s protection and finding security ('He that dwelleth in the secret place... shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty') parallels Job's image of a peaceful, secure tent.
- Isaiah 32:18 (verbal): Speaks of 'peaceful habitation' and 'secure dwellings,' closely paralleling the language and theme of a tent/house kept in peace in Job 5:24.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall know that your tent is in peace; you shall visit your dwelling and find no fault.
- And you shall know that your tent is at peace; you shall look about your dwelling and shall not sin.
Job.5.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- רב: ADJ,m,sg
- זרעך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- וצאצאיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כעשב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 22:17 (verbal): God's promise to Abraham to 'multiply your seed'—compares offspring to innumerable elements (stars/sand), paralleling Job's assurance of many descendants.
- Genesis 28:14 (verbal): God's promise to Jacob that his offspring 'shall be like the dust of the earth' — a close verbal/similar-imagery parallel to 'like the grass of the earth.'
- Deuteronomy 28:11-12 (thematic): Part of the covenant blessing that includes fruitfulness and increase of offspring and possessions—echoes the theme of abundant progeny and prosperity.
- Isaiah 54:3 (allusion): Promise that the people will expand and their offspring will inherit nations—resonates thematically with assurance of multiplication and flourishing descendants.
- Psalm 112:2 (thematic): Speaks of the righteous' descendants being powerful and blessed in the land—parallels Job's emphasis on the prosperity and multitude of one's offspring.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall know that your offspring will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
- And you shall know that your seed will be many, and your offspring like the grass of the field.
Job.5.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תבוא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בכלח: PREP
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- קבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כעלות: PREP
- גדיש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בעתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
Parallels
- Psalm 90:10-12 (thematic): Both passages reflect on the brevity and measure of human life and the need to account for days; Job 5:26 speaks of arriving at the grave 'in full age,' Psalm 90 emphasizes the shortness of years and asks for wisdom to number days.
- Psalm 92:12-15 (thematic): Uses the image of flourishing and fruitfulness in old age (the righteous 'still bear fruit in old age'), paralleling Job's image of coming to the grave 'like a shock of grain in its season' — ripeness and fulfillment at life's end.
- Job 14:1-2 (structural): An intra‑book parallel: Job 14 depicts human life as fleeting like a flower that withers, providing a thematic counterpoint within Job to the more hopeful image in 5:26 of reaching the grave in maturity.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (structural): Frames life in ordained seasons — 'a time to be born, and a time to die' — echoing the seasonal/harvest metaphor of Job 5:26 (death as arrival at the proper season, like grain gathered in due time).
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall come to your grave in full age, like a sheaf gathered in its season.
- You shall come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf gathered in its season.
Job.5.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- חקרנוה: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- כן: ADV
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- שמענה: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,pl
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- דע: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 25:2 (verbal): Both verses use the language of 'searching out' a matter; Proverbs states that it is the honor of rulers to search out matters, echoing Job 5:27's claim 'this we have searched out.'
- Ecclesiastes 1:13 (verbal): Ecclesiastes explicitly recounts applying the heart to 'seek and to search out' by wisdom, paralleling Job's assertion that the speaker has investigated and found the truth.
- Acts 17:11 (thematic): The Bereans 'searched the Scriptures' to verify teaching — thematically similar to Job's call to hear and personally know the truth after investigation.
- Job 12:11 (thematic): Within Job itself, this verse emphasizes testing and discerning words ('Does not the ear try words?'), resonating with 5:27's injunction 'hear, and know for yourself.'
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, this we have searched out; it is so. Hear it, and know it for yourself.
- Behold, we have searched this out; so it is. Hear it, and know it for yourself.
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
If one should test you with words, would you be weary? Who can restrain speech?
Behold, you have instructed many and have strengthened hands that were weak.
You would lift up those who stumble; you steadied knees that were giving way. But now trouble has come upon you; sorrow has drawn near, and distress has seized you.
Was not your reverence your confidence, your hope and the integrity of your ways?
Remember now: who that was innocent ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap it.
By the breath of God they perish; by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
The roar of the lion and the cry of the lioness are stilled, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
The lion goes hungry and perishes for lack of prey; the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
A word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it.
In visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
terror seized me and trembling, and all my bones were made afraid.
A wind passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.
It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form was before my eyes—silence—and then I heard a voice.
Can a mortal be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
Behold, he puts no trust in his servants; even his angels he regards as flawed.
How much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust—who are crushed and perish.
From morning to evening they are beaten down; at dusk they are cut off—forever—without regard.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die—without wisdom.
Call now—who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
For fury kills the foolish, and jealousy slays the naive.
I have seen the fool established in prosperity, yet suddenly his habitation is cursed.
His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate and there is no one to deliver.
His harvest is eaten by the hungry; he will not gather it, and marauders will take it away.
For calamity does not come forth from the dust, nor does trouble spring up from the ground. But man is born to toil, like sparks that fly upward.
Yet I would seek God and would present my case to God.
He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
He gives rain on the earth and sends waters upon the fields.
He lifts the lowly on high and raises up those who are bowed down.
He thwarts the devices of the crafty, and their hands cannot achieve success.
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the counsel of the schemers comes to nothing.
They meet with darkness in the daytime; in broad daylight they grope as in the night.
He rescues the poor from the sword, from the mouth of the oppressor and from the hand of the violent.
Then the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
Behold, blessed is the man whom God reproves; do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
For he wounds and he binds up; he shatters and his hands heal.
In six troubles he will rescue you, and in seven no harm will touch you.
He will redeem you from death in famine and from the power of the sword in war.
You will be hidden from the lash of the tongue and will not fear destruction when it comes.
You will laugh at ravage and famine, and shall not fear the beasts of the land.
For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
Then you will know that your tent is at peace; you will inspect your dwelling and not be shaken.
You will know that your offspring are many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf gathered in its season.
Behold, this we have explored; it is so. Hear it, and know it for yourself.