Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Bibles are so polite

How would you translate this - Job 34:10?



ה חָלִילָה לִּי אִם-אַצְדִּיק
אֶתְכֶם עַד-אֶגְוָע לֹא-אָסִיר תֻּמָּתִי מִמֶּנִּי
27.5 A curse on me if I justify you
till I expire I will not turn away my completeness from me
י לָכֵן אַנְשֵׁי לֵבָב שִׁמְעוּ-לִי
חָלִלָה לָאֵל מֵרֶשַׁע
וְשַׁדַּי מֵעָוֶל
34.10 therefore mortals with heart hear me
-------- on God from wickedness
and the Sufficient from iniquity
Far be it from me to be polite? Tur Sinai has 'Shame on me' in 27:5, and suggests 'shame [would it be to] God' in 34:10. This at least is consistent. The phrase is often rendered 'God forbid'. It is unusual for the object of the word to be the deity. See Genesis 18:25 where Abraham uses it in his argument against the destruction of the cities. (Staples, The Speeches of Elihu, U of T 1925, omits the middle stich of 34:10 as a gloss).

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