Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Bill Rea <cctr114 AT it.canterbury.ac.nz>]

Lawrence asked for my translation. So here it is:-

1 Then Job answered YHWH and said   (prose)
2 I know that you can do everything 
  Nothing you plan can be prevented 
3 Who is this who raises up(1) council without knowledge?
  Therefore I have declared, but I did not understand
  Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know
4 Listen please, and I will speak 
  I will ask you and you will teach me
5 By the hearing of my ear I heard you
  But now my eye sees you
6 Therefore I melt away(2) and repent
  In dust and ashes
  
Notes:

(1) The raising up of council seems to be in the sense of putting it
    out of reach of people. Other translators have said suching things
    as obscures or hides. Like the debater who can win on the strength
    of his rhetoric without understanding the topic.
(2) A bit of laziness here. In my opinion Job has had his protesting streak
    demolished. He argued against his friends' assessment of his position
    and declared his willingness to stand before God and make his case.
    But given the chance he finds he has nothing to say except to
    acknowledge YHWH power v2 and wisdom v3 and ask that he be taught
    v4. Melting away is how he would feel, but it is not a common
    idiom, so perhaps difficult to understand without a long-winded
    footnote :-). 
    
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