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14 They die[a] in their youth,
and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes.[b]
15 He delivers the afflicted by[c] their[d] afflictions,
he reveals himself to them[e] by their suffering.
16 And surely, he drew you[f] from the mouth of distress,
to a wide place, unrestricted,[g]
and to the comfort[h] of your table
filled with rich food.[i]

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Footnotes

  1. Job 36:14 tn The text expresses this with “their soul dies.”
  2. Job 36:14 tn Heb “among the male prostitutes” who were at the temple—the “holy ones,” with “holy” being used in that sense of “separated to that form of temple service.” So uncleanness and shame are some of the connotations of the reference. Some modern translations give the general sense only: “their life ends in shame” (NRSV); “and perish among the reprobate” (NAB); “die…after wasting their lives in immoral living” (NLT).
  3. Job 36:15 tn The preposition ב (bet) in these two lines is not location but instrument, not “in” but “by means of.” The affliction and the oppression serve as a warning for sin, and therefore a means of salvation.
  4. Job 36:15 tn Heb “his.”
  5. Job 36:15 tn Heb “he uncovers their ear.”
  6. Job 36:16 tn The Hebrew verb means “to entice; to lure; to allure; to seduce,” but these have negative connotations. The English “to persuade; to draw” might work better. The verb is the Hiphil perfect of סוּת (sut). But the nuance of the verb is difficult. It can be equivalent to an English present expressing what God is doing (Peake). But the subject is contested as well. Since the verb usually has an evil connotation, there have been attempts to make the “plaza” the subject—“the wide place has led you astray” (Ewald).
  7. Job 36:16 tn Heb “a broad place where there is no cramping beneath [or under] it.”
  8. Job 36:16 tn The word נַחַת (nakhat) could be translated “set” if it is connected with the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest,” but then “to lay to rest, to set”). Kissane translates it “comfort.” Dhorme thinks it could come from נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) or נָחַת (nakhat, “to descend”). But his conclusion is that it is a dittography after “under it” (p. 545).
  9. Job 36:16 tn Heb “filled with fat.”