In characteristic fashion Bildad opens his speech with a question. How long will you hunt for words? is literally “How long will you (plural) set a trap for words?” In Bildad’s first speech in chapter 8 he asked Job “Are you finally through with your wordy speech?” That appears to be the thrust of his opening question here. Bildad seems to be addressing Job, but the Hebrew verbs of verse 2 are in the plural. The Septuagint has singular verbs. Modern translations handle the problem of the plural address in three ways: Revised Standard Version and others assume that Bildad is speaking to Job only and change to the singular like the Septuagint. Good News Translation and others take the position that Bildad is speaking to Job, not as an individual, but as a representative of a group, so Good News Translation identifies Job and says “people like you.” Another group of translations (Bible en français courant, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) assume that Bildad is addressing the other two friends; for example, New Jerusalem Bible “What prevents you others from saying something?” These translations take the view that we will speak in the second line refers to Bildad and his two friends, and so New Jerusalem Bible has “Think—for it is our turn to speak!” Good News Translation assumes that Bildad uses the first person plural in line b to mean Bildad and Job. The advantage of interpreting line a as Bildad addressing the other two friends is that no change is required in the Hebrew text. While it is not possible to insist on one view at the expense of the others, in verse 4 Job is clearly addressed, and the remainder of the chapter is intended for Job’s ears, not for the other friends; therefore Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are to be preferred.

Hunt in hunt for words translates a word some scholars say is derived from the Akkadian word for “trap.” The word occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. Some medieval Jewish interpreters understood the word to mean “end,” and so New Jerusalem Bible has “Put an end to talk!” This is the recommendation of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. Pope relates the word rendered hunt to an Arabic root of the same meaning and translates “How long will you set word snares?” Habel takes the expression to be the equivalent of “playing word games.” It is possible that readers will interpret hunt for words as implying that Job is not fluent in his language. This is hardly the meaning. Consequently in many languages it will be necessary to say, for example, “When will you put a stop to your speeches?” “Will you go on talking forever?” or “When are you going to be silent?”

Consider, and then we will speak: Consider does not make good sense here, and the Hebrew verb it translates would be better rendered “Be sensible!” Dhorme suggests a change in one letter, which gives “Listen!” and this seems to be the basis for Good News Translation “If you stopped to listen.” New Jerusalem Bible, which assumes Bildad is speaking to the other two friends, says “Think—for it is our turn to speak!” One of the alternative renderings in a footnote of Bible en français courant is a good model for translators: “Come to your senses, and then we will talk.” This line may also be expressed, for example, “If you would be reasonable, we could talk,” “Stop to think for a while, and then we can speak together,” or idiomatically, “Let your tongue rest so that we can speak together.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .