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Job 21 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Some translations prefer to set apart extended quotations, prayers, or songs. The ULB and many other English translations indent the lines of this chapter, which is an extended quotation. This chapter is Job's response to Zophar. It is also a response to all three of his friends in general.
Special concepts in this chapter
Ancestor's sin
In the ancient Near East, it was common to believe that a person could be punished because of the sins of their fathers and ancestors. It was seen as the punishment of a god. While a father's sin may have consequences for their children, Yahweh does not punish people because of their father's sin. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/believe, rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
Important figures of speech in this chapter
Rhetorical questions
Job uses many different rhetorical questions in this chapter in order to try to convince Zophar that he is wrong. These questions help to build Job's argument. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)