Job now begins to close his discourse and asks rhetorically Are not the days of my life few? The words of my life are not in the Hebrew text. The Septuagint and Syriac have “the days of my life,” which is followed by Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and others. The Hebrew text adds a word which may be rendered “let him cease,” as in the Revised Standard Version note. Gordis understands this word to have contrasted meanings, both “cease” and “continue.” He translates “but little will my days continue.” King James Version translates this verb as an imperative, “cease then,” a request Job addresses to God. This verb may also be read as indicative, and that is a suggestion of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project: “Will not the fewness of my days soon cease?” The line may also be rendered, for example, “Isn’t my life almost finished?” or as a statement, “I have only a short time left to live.”

Let me alone, that I may find a little comfort: Psalm 39.13 says “Look away from me, that I may know gladness” (Revised Standard Version). In 7.19 Job asked God “How long wilt thou not look away from me?” In 14.6 Job, speaking about mankind in general, asks God to “look away from him … that he may enjoy….” Many scholars propose changing the Hebrew text to get “look away from,” as in the Septuagint. The Hebrew of the first clause says “put from me,” and this may expect the reader to understand “thy hand” or “thy attention,” according to Rowley. In any event Job is pleading with God to leave him in peace. A little comfort translates the same term used in 9.27, “be of good cheer.” The line may be rendered, for example, “Stop your attacks; let me rest a little” or “Leave me alone to enjoy myself awhile.”

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 .