And there came a messenger to Job: with verse 14 begins a swift succession of events, each repeated in much the same language until the end of verse 19. The word translated messenger can also mean “angel” (as it does in 4.18 and 33.23), but here the context makes clear that a human messenger is meant. Good News Translation “came running to Job” translates “came to Job” (also in verses 16, 17, 18), and in the context of the rapid series of events, “running” is appropriate; it is used likewise in New English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. The author does not pause to tell where Job may be; however, in verse 20 he stands up and shaves his head. It is probably implied that he was in his house, and in languages which require locating Job, one may translate “a messenger ran to Job’s house and told him…,” or more generally, “a messenger ran to where Job was sitting and told him….”

The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them: the scene reveals a normal agricultural day in the Middle Eastern winter, when plowing is done; winter in the Middle East starts in October and ends in April. This is the second time the author calls attention to the fact that life was going along in its habitual routine. Job’s sons, if they ever worked, certainly did not do so when feasting was called for. Plowing was done by Job’s farm hands using teams of oxen joined by a yoke. The asses refers to the female donkeys of verse 3. Feeding beside them gives a picture of these animals grazing in a freshly plowed field, which is hardly the case. The Good News Translation rendering has the messenger report to Job as a participant in the work, “We were plowing…,” which is more natural and vivid than in Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation also makes it clear “the donkeys were in a nearby pasture.” In languages in which “oxen” and “plowing” are unknown, some adaptations will have to be made. As suggested in verse 3, sometimes a borrowed word from a major language has to be used. It is also possible sometimes to use a generic such as “animal” joined with a limiting qualifier such as “work”; for example, “work animals” or “work animals called oxen.” The same procedure may be necessary where the plow is unknown. For example, one may say “the animals were pulling the instrument called plow.” It is also possible to express the idea without using “plow” by saying “the work animals were preparing the ground for planting.” If the ox is unknown and another animal is used for plowing, it may be possible to substitute that animal, provided it can also be done with no conflict in verse 3. Illustrations can usually help make the picture clear. In some languages the absence of a possessor in The oxen and the asses will suggest that these animals were wild. Accordingly we should say “Job’s oxen” and “Job’s donkeys.”

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 .