Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? is similar to a sarcastic question Eliphaz put to Job in 15.7, “Are you the first man that was born?” God does not ask in order to know where Job was at the time of creation, but this is an ironic way of saying “you were not there.” Both God and Job know that Job was not present at the creation. The implication is that to know the design of the universe would require having participated in the act of creation.

The foundation is the lower part of a structure upon which the structure rests. The usage of building terms is figurative, and Good News Translation shifts to “made the world,” which is more general but is also more appropriate when speaking of the earth. In language areas in which buildings lack a foundation, it may be necessary to say, for example, “Where were you when I set the earth on its resting place?” or “… when I set the earth down?”

Tell me, if you have understanding is literally “Tell if you know understanding.” Understanding translates a Hebrew word meaning “discernment, insight” and is sometimes paired with “wisdom.” According to Dhorme “to know discernment” is to know the inner truth of a matter, as in Proverbs 4.1, and seems to have the same meaning as “gaining wisdom” in Proverbs 4.5. According to Habel God appears to ask Job if he has acquired the wisdom to enable him to discern the mysteries of the design of the earth. Bible en français courant transposes the two lines of verse 4 and translates “Explain to me, if you know the truth: where were you when I founded the earth?” This line is not parallel with line a but is a command that is added to line a. In some languages it will be more natural to place line b first; for example, “Tell me if you know so much, where were you when I set the earth on its resting place?”

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 .