Did Job Repent or Was He Comforted? - diving deep into Job 42:6

Since last time we talked about the book of Job, I wanted to touch on another translation issue in the book that many people haven’t heard of or thought about. This is found in 42:6, where Job is speaking to God after hearing his voice out of the whirlwind. If you’re reading the ESV it’ll sound like this: “therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” And then you’ll notice this little footnote on the word repent that says “or and am comforted.” These are wildly different translations, and the average Bible reader doesn’t have the tools to make any sense of it. So let’s talk about it. 

עַל־כֵּ֭ן אֶמְאַ֣ס וְנִחַ֑מְתִּי עַל־עָפָ֥ר וָאֵֽפֶר׃

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