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V. 10. - far be it from God that he fhould do Wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he fhould commit Iniquity. ba

חללה לאל .that The Analyfis of this Idiom feems to me to be [מרשע - ושדי מעול :

this Profaneness would be to God in doing Wickedness, and to the Almighty in committing Iniquity; for both the Verbs are in the Infinitive; as in these Inftances

be was afraid to look ירא מהביט אל אלהים

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(literally in looking) upon God; Exod. III. 6. and 8 nå pbna iba”,
and they made an End of dividing (literally in or from dividing) the
FAR BE IT
Earth; Joh. XIX. 51. I would therefore render
FROM GOD TO DO WICKEDNESS, AND FROM THE ALMIGHTY
TO COMMIT INIQUITY.

V. 14. If he fet his Heart upon Man, if he gather &c.— R
IF HE SET HIS HEART AGAINST

Rather [ אליו לבו - וגו"

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HIM, HE WILL GATHER &c.

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[ואם בינה שמעה

V. 16. If thou haft Understanding, hear this: YOU MY ON] is here not a Subftantive, but a Verb in the Imperative, with the paragogic, as Pf. V. 1. and ought to be rendered BUT, I

PRAY THEE, UNDERSTAND, HEAR THIS.

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V. 17. Shall even be that hateth Right govern? DUD NI 187 YEA, SHALL HE THAT HATE TH JUSTICE RECTIFY? for an never fignifies to govern.

- Rather [ יחבוש

ואם צדיק כביר ? and wilt thou condemn bim that is more jut

[ תרשיע :

Rather
RIGHTEOUS? The Construction of our Verfion feems contrary to the
Genius of the Hebrew. ' is here confidered as an Adverb, as Ch.
XV.10. XXXI. 25. and the Verb is ufed as 1 Sam. XIV. 47. or as V.29.
V. 18. Is it fit to fay to a King, Thou art wicked? bob JONT

AND WILT THOU GREATLY VEX THE

Rather [ בליעל

SHALL WICKEDNESS BE ATTRIBUTED TO (OR PUBLISHED OF, or CONCERNING) THE KING; and UNGODLINESS, OF PRINCES? This Conftruction feems eafy; whereas the other is repugnant to the Rules of Grammar.

V.19. How much less to him that accepteth not the Perfons of Prin

,This Sentence will not be defective [ אשר לא נשא פני שרים - : ces

if we render N BEHOLD, HE ACCEPTETH &c. as it ought to be, 2 Sam. II. 4. - XIV. 15. That Particle, in this Senfe, is properly introduced, when the Admiration is to be raised, or a Contraft is intended to be exhibited.

V. 20. and

[אביר לא ביד :

ויסירו

V. 20. and the mighty fhall be taken away without Hand. 10" 78] Rather AND THEY SHALL TAKE AWAY THE MIGHTY WITHOUT FORCE: i. e. he will be so feeble, that Force, used against him, will be unneceffary.

V. 22. There is no Darkness, nor Shadow of Death, where the

אין חשך ואין צלמות - להסתר .tworkers of Iniquity may bide themfelves [שם פעלי און :

IN ] Rather NEITHER DARKNESS, NOR THE SHADOW OF DEATH WILL HIDE THERE THE WORKERS OF INIQUITY: the Infinitive for the Preter.

V. 23. For he will not lay upon Man more than right;

y dis og TY DWUN] Qu. ought not this Hemiftic to be rendered - FOR NEITHER YET WILL HE DECREE (or ORDAIN) IN RESPECT TO MAN? See thus ufed, Ifa. LXI.3. and Hab. I. 12. and in respect

to the by, fee Numb. VIII. 22. 1 Kings XXII. 8.

མ.

Rather [ממלך אדם חנף - ממקשי עם :

30. That the Hypocrite reign not, left the People be enfnared. THE HYPOCRITE IS MADE TO REIGN, ON ACCOUNT OF THE SNARES OF THE PEOPLE. The Verb is here confidered as the Participle Pabul, and the Prepofition, as Exod. VI.9. Deut. VII.7. See the fame Sentiment, Ifa. III. 4,5, &c.

V. 31. Surely it is meet to be faid unto God, I have borne Chaftife

[כי אל אל האמר - נשאתי לא אחבל: .ment, I will not offend any more

Rather, I think SURELY IT

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MAY BE SAID UNTO GOD, I HAVE BEEN DECEIVED; I WILL NOT ACT CORRUPTLY.

CHAP. XXXV.

V. 3. For thou faidft, What Advantage will it be unto thee? and, What Profit Shall I have if I be cleansed from my Sin?

Rather - FoR THOU SAIDST, WHAT [ יסכן לך - מה אעיל מחטאתי:

Thus is

ADVANTAGE WILL THERE BE UNTO THEE, and WHAT PROFIT
SHALL I HAVE, FROM MY Loss, or SUFFERING?
NO rendered Gen. XXXI. 39. and ought to be — XLIII. 9.

לאיש כמוך רשעך - לבן אדם

V. 8. Thy Wickedness may hurt a Man as thou art: and thy Righte aufnefs may profit the Son of Man. :7px] The Senfe I think is fufficiently clear without any other Ad

dition than the Verb Subftantive, thus - THY WICKEDNESS is FOR A MAN AS THYSELF; AND THY RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR THE SON OF MAN.

,they cry out ישועו The Verb [מרוב עשוקים יזעיקו

V.9. By Reafon of the Multitude of Oppreffions they make the oppreffed to cry:which immediately follows, feems to determine that py is here to be confidered as in the first Conjugation, as it frequently is; fo that this Place might be rendered --- THEY BEWAIL BY THEY BEWAIL BY REASON OF THE MULTITUDE OF OPPRESSIONS.

V. 14. Although thou fayeft thou shalt not fee him, yet Judgment is before him, therefore truft thou in him. phon♫ 10 98

Rather [לפניו ותחולל לו :

NOTWITHSTANDING THOU HAST

SAID THOU SHALT NOT SEE HIM; EXECUTE JUDGMENT BEFORE HIM, AND THOU MAYEST WAIT FOR HIM.

V. 15. But now, because it is not so, he hath vifited in his Anger ;

ועתה כי אין פקד אפו - ולא .yet be knoweth it not in great Extremity Our Tranflators make God the Subject of the firft [ ידע בפש מאד :

Hemiftic, and Job of the latter; as appears by the Margin; which is harth. They next derive w from ; which is furely unjuftifiable. And, to compleat all, after having coined a new Word, they give it an arbitrary Senfe, which has not the most distant Connection with the Root. There is the strongest Evidence that this Word is defective in the printed Text; that, instead of w, it ought to be written ywɔɔ : for the LXX render it ρаμa, fo does Theodotion; Symmachus @agazтoμata, and the Vulgate Scelus: and the Syriac and Arabic evidently countenance this Lection. The Chaldee is corrupt. On the Authority therefore of all thefe diftin&t Witneffes, we cannot hesitate to admit this Reading, and render the Verse thus - BUT NOW, BECAUSE HIS ANGER HATH NOT VISITED, AND HE HATH NOT REGARDED TRANSGRESSION GREATLY &c.

V. 4.

CHAP. XXXVI.

- he that is perfect in Knowledge is with thee. y b'an 7] Rather, I think but PERFECT KNOWLEDGE (literally the Perfection, or the Oracle, of Knowledge) fhall be WITH THEE.

V. 5. Behold God is mighty and defpifeth not any he is mighty in Strength and Wisdom. :25

G

Our הן אל כביר ולא ימאס

Verfion

כחלב

Verfion fupplies here the Prepofition and copulative Particle, that the laft Hemiftic may bear the Senfe given to it. But, if without these Additions, a Senfe, better in itself, and more agreeable to the Context, can be deduced from the fame Letters, in the very fame Order, is it not to be admitted? And this is done by bringing clofer the four laft Letters; or making one Word out of two., a will then have the usual Particle of Comparison prefixed, and an will fignify a Suckling, as 1 Sam. VII. 9. thus - THOUGH GOD be MIGHTY, YET HE DESPISETH NOT: though MIGHTY, yet AS A SUCKLING: i. e. gentle. The Particle is thus ufed Jer. II. 10. The Antithefis of the next Verse favours alfo this Interpretation. The Syriac and Arabic evidently read the Text, as is here proposed: but miftook the Senfe.

V. 16. Even fo would be have removed thee out of the ftrait into a broad Place, where there is no Straitness. A

רחב

ואף הסיתך מפי צר In the Hebrew each of thefe Hemiftics contains [לא מוצק תחתיה:

a distinct Sentiment; which may not improperly be thus rendered EVEN SO WOULD HE HAVE RESCUED THEE FROM THE JAWS OF THE OPPRESSOR; HE WOULD HAVE GIVEN thee ROOM INSTEAD OF STRAITNESS; (or LARGE, NOT STRAIT should have been THY PLACE.) For nn is used fubftantively for a Man's Place, Exod. X. 23. 1 Sam. XIV. 9. 2 Sam. II. 23. See V. 20.

--

--

Rather [כי חמה פן יסיתך בשפק

V. 18. Because there is Wrath, beware left he take thee away with his Stroke: -FORASMUCH AS there is WRATH, BE THOU NOT MOVED TO SELF-CONFIDENCE, (or SELF-COMPLACENCY ;) which is the Senfe of pow; fee Taylor. The Verb is imperfonal, and implies the Senfe here given to it. The Fault which Elihu finds with Job is his thinking too well of himself, and not humbling himself sufficiently under the Divine Chastisement. V. 19. not Gold, nor all the Forces of Strength.s n] These Words would be more intelligible were they rendered, as they certainly may be― NOT GOLD, NOR ALL THE POWERS OF WEALTH. See Ch.VI. 22. Prov. V. 10. &c.

V. 20. Defire not the Night, when People are cut off in their Place.

Rather-DESIRE NOT [אל תשאף הלילה - לעלות עמים תחתם:

THE NIGHT, IN ORDER TO DESTROY THE PEOPLE, WHOM

THOU

THOU HAST TAKEN; (or IN THEIR PLACE, i. e. murder them in their Houses.) I give the Verb by the Sense it has, Pf. CII. 24.

The [מי פקד עליו דרכו

V. 23. Who bath enjoined him his Way? Verb PD, when it has the Prepofition by or by after it, fignifies To animadvert upon, to correct or punish. This Place ought therefore to be rendered WHO CAN CHARGE HIM WITH HIS WAY? or WHO CAN ANIMADVERT UPON HIM FOR HIS WAY? And this Sense will perfectly agree with the next Hemiftic.

Rather [כל אדם

V. 25. Every Man] VIN, Man, follows immediately after.

EVERY ONE, because

V. 27. For he maketh small the Drops of Water: they pour down

כי יגרע נטפי מים - יזקו מטר :Rain according to the Vapour thereof

17] Neither the Verb, nor the Pronoun, of the laft Hemiftic feems to have any Antecedent, as they are rendered in our Verfion. These Faults however are not to be charged on the Text; for it may be rendered-FOR HE MAKETH SMALL THE DROPS OF THE Water, which POURETH DOWN RAIN THROUGH HIS VAPOUR: Or FOR HE RESTRAINETH THE DROPS OF THE WATERS, which POUR DOWN RAIN THROUGH THE VAPOUR; (V. 28.) AND WHICH THE CLOUDS &C.

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אף

V. 29. Also can any understand the Spreadings of the Clouds, ay 'W¬DA 1'a' ON] The natural Conftruction of the Words, abftractedly confidered, the Syntax, and the Context, confpire to make God the Subject of this Verfe; which ought to be rendered-YEA, VERILY HE UNDERSTANDETH THE EXPANSIONS OF THE CLOUD, &c.

or the Noife of his Tabernacle? : sen] Rather THE THUNDER WITHIN, viz. within the Cloud; or THE THUNDER OF HIS HABITATION; viz. God's; for God is faid to make the Clouds the Place of his Refidence. See Pf. XVIII. 11. XCVII. 2. The old Verfions render in Thunder, and the Context evidently points out that particular Sense.

he

על כפים כסה אור

V. 32. With Clouds be covereth the Light: 'by] The Word fignifies no where Clouds. It is therefore better to render this Place thus WITH his HANDS HE COVERETH THE

LIGHT.

G 2

and

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