Job 24:18-24 | NET2full | STEP | You say, ‘ He is foam on the face of the waters ; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard .

‏ Job 24:18-24

18 ^{▼▼tc Many commentators find vv. 18-24 difficult on the lips of Job, and so identify this unit as a misplaced part of the speech of Zophar. They describe the enormities of the wicked. But a case can also be made for retaining it in this section. Gordis thinks it could be taken as a quotation by Job of his friends’ ideas.} You say, ^{▼▼tn The verb “say” is not in the text; it is supplied here to indicate that this is a different section.} ‘He is foam ^{▼▼tn Or “is swift.”} on the face of the waters; ^{▼▼sn The wicked person is described here as a spray or foam upon the waters, built up in the agitation of the waters but dying away swiftly.}
their portion of the land is cursed
so that no one goes to their vineyard. ^{▼▼tn The text reads, “he does not turn by the way of the vineyards.” This means that since the land is cursed, he/one does not go there. Bickell emended “the way of the vineyards” to “the treader of the vineyard” (see RSV, NRSV). This would mean that “no wine-presser would turn towards” their vineyards.}
19 The drought ^{▼▼tn Or “dryness.” The term צִיָּה (tsiyyah) normally refers to a dry region, a wilderness or desert. Here the focus is on dryness.} as well as the heat
snatch up the melted snow; ^{▼▼tn Heb “the waters of the snow.”}
so the grave ^{▼▼tn Or “Sheol.”} snatches up the sinner. ^{▼▼tc Heb “The grave [] they have sinned.” The verb “snatch up/away” is understood by parallelism. If the perfect verb is maintained, the line also implies the relative pronoun, “the grave [snatches] [those who] have sinned.” If the verb is emended from the perfect to a participle by deleting or moving the ו (vav) from חטאו to חוטא, it reads “the grave [snatches] one who sins.”}
20 The womb ^{▼▼tn Here “womb” is synecdoche, representing one’s mother.} forgets him,
the worm feasts on him,
no longer will he be remembered.
Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.
21 He preys on ^{▼▼tc The form in the text is the active participle, “feed; graze; shepherd.” The idea of “prey” is not natural to it. R. Gordis (Job, 270) argues that third he (ה) verbs are often by-forms of geminate verbs, and so the meaning here is more akin to רָעַע (raʿaʿ, “to crush”). The LXX seems to have read something like הֵרַע (heraʿ, “oppressed”).} the barren and childless woman ^{▼▼tn Heb “the childless [woman], she does not give birth.” The verbal clause is intended to serve as a modifier here for the woman. See on subordinate verbal clauses GKC 490 §156.d, f.}
and does not treat the widow well.
22 But God ^{▼▼tn God has to be the subject of this clause. None is stated in the Hebrew text, but “God” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.} drags off the mighty by his power;
when God ^{▼▼tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “life” at the end of the line.} rises up against him, he has no faith in his life. ^{▼▼tn This line has been given a number of interpretations due to its cryptic form. The verb יָקוּם (yaqum) means “he rises up.” It probably is meant to have God as the subject, and be subordinated as a temporal clause to what follows. The words “against him” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to specify the object and indicate that “rise up” is meant in a hostile sense. The following verb וְלֹא־יַאֲמִין (veloʾ yaʾamin), by its very meaning of “and he does not believe,” cannot have God as the subject, but must refer to the wicked.}
23 God ^{▼▼tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} may let them rest in a feeling of security, ^{▼▼tn The expression לָבֶטַח (lavetakh, “in security”) precedes the verb that it qualifies—God “allows him to take root in security.” For the meaning of the verb, see Job 8:15.}
but he is constantly watching ^{▼▼tn Heb “his eyes are on.”} all their ways. ^{▼▼sn The meaning of the verse is that God may allow the wicked to rest in comfort and security, but all the time he is watching them closely with the idea of bringing judgment on them.}
24 They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone; ^{▼▼tn The Hebrew throughout this section (vv. 18-24) interchanges the singular and the plural. Here again we have “they are exalted…but he is not.” The verse is clear nonetheless: the wicked rise high, and then suddenly they are gone.}
they are brought low ^{▼▼tn The verb is the Hophal of the rare verb מָכַךְ (makhakh), which seems to mean “to bend; to collapse.” The text would read “they are made to collapse like all others.” There is no reason here to change “like others” just because the MT is banal. But many do, following the LXX with “like mallows.” The LXX was making a translation according to sense. R. Gordis (Job, 271) prefers “like grass.”} like all others and gathered in, ^{▼▼tn The verb קָפַץ (qafats) actually means “to shut in,” which does not provide exactly the idea of being gathered, not directly at least. But a change to קָטַף (qataf, “pluck”) while attractive, is not necessary.}
and like a head of grain they are cut off.’ ^{▼▼sn This marks the end of the disputed section, taken here to be a quotation by Job of their sentiments.}