Verse 10 expands on verse 9 and gives the reason why God’s creatures are able to know him. The two lines of verse 10 are closely parallel in meaning. In his hand is the life of every living thing: In his hand means “in God’s power, under God’s control, directed by God.” Life translates nefesh, which is paralleled by ruach breath in the next line. In 7.11 these same two terms are rendered “soul and spirit.” There, as well as here, the meanings are the same. When God takes away the nefesh “soul,” death results, so here “soul” is the life principle or life force that sustains a creature. Good News Translation translates soul as “lives,” since it refers to the collective, every living thing. This expression includes all forms of life, including animal life. Line a then says “In God’s hands are the lives of everything that lives” or “God has power over the lives of everything that lives.”

And the breath of all mankind: In his hand in the first line applies also to this line. Breath translates the Hebrew ruach. Until God gives man breath, he is not a living creature. All mankind translates “the flesh of man,” which refers more specifically to the life or spirit of people, in contrast to the term in the first line, which is all-inclusive. This line may be expressed as “The breath which gives people their life” or “The breath which causes people to live.”

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 .