of his own, after Isa 33:11). The repetition of יסוּר (“he escapes not,” as Pro 13:14; “he must yield to,” as 1Ki 15:14, and freq.) is an impressive play upon words.
Verses 31-35
Job 15:31-35 31 Let him not trust in evil-he is deceived,
For evil shall be his possession. 32 His day is not yet, then it is accomplished,
And his palm-branch loseth its freshness. 33 He teareth off as a vine his young grapes,
And He casteth down as an olive-tree his flower. 34 The company of the hypocrite is rigid,
And fire consumeth the tents of bribery. 35 They conceive sorrow and bring forth iniquity,
And their inward part worketh self-deceit. אל does not merely introduce a declaration respecting the future (Luther: he will not continue, which moreover must have been expressed by the Niph.), but is admonitory: may he only not trust in vanity (Munach here instead of Dechî, according to the rule of transformation, Psalter, ii. 504, §4) - he falls, so far as he does it, into error, or brings himself into error (נתעה, 3 praet., not part., and Niph. like Isa 19:14, where it signifies to be thrust backwards and forwards, or to reel about helplessly), - a thought one might expect after the admonition (Olsh. conjectures נתעב, one who is detestable): this trusting in evil is self-delusion, for evil becomes his exchange (תּמוּרה not compensatio, but permutatio, acquisitio). We have translated שׁוא by “evil” (Unheil), by which we have sought elsewhere to render און, in order that we might preserve the same word in both members of the verse. In Job 15:31, שׁוא (in form = שׁוא from שׁוא, in the Chethib שוּ, the Aleph being cast away, like the Arabic sû’, wickedness, form the v. cavum hamzatum sâ-'a = sawu'a) is waste and empty
