Among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil: as Revised Standard Version notes, the Hebrew is literally “between their rows they press out oil.” The Hebrew can also be understood as “between their walls,” which would refer to some kind of structure or enclosure where the olives are pressed. Among the olive rows suggests “between the rows of olive trees,” but this is a very unlikely place to put equipment for pressing olives. Dhorme makes a slight change to get “between two millstones.” Another proposed change gets “between their songs.” The verb translated they make oil is found only here, but it is derived from the common term for “oil” and most likely has the meaning as in Revised Standard Version. On the other hand, they make oil can be derived from the word for “noonday,” used in Syriac and Vulgate. The idea here would be that they are forced to work through the heat of the day. Good News Translation incorporates “and grapes for wine” from line b into line a and has “They press olives for oil and grapes for wine,” which provides a good rendering to follow. However, Good News Translation has not translated the location where this work is said to take place. In languages in which olives and grapes are unknown, it may be possible to substitute local fruits if a process of extracting oil and juice is used; for example, palm oil in many areas. Another possibility is to substitute some kind of generic expression; for example, “Near the trees belonging to the wicked, they squeeze out oil from the fruit.”

They tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst: here the picture is that of thirsty workers tramping their feet up and down on the grapes inside a vat to press out the juice, but they are not allowed to drink it. Tread translates the same verb rendered “trampled” in 9.8 and “trod” in 22.15. The word translated wine presses is found in Isaiah 16.10 “no treader treads out wine in the presses.” Wine press refers to a large wooden or stone vat or container which was connected to a lower container by a pipe or channel. As the grapes were mashed in the upper vat, the juice ran into the lower one. It may be necessary to make clear that these oppressed people are surrounded by juice and, although thirsty, they are not allowed to drink. In some languages the line may have to be expressed as, for example, “While they suffer from thirst, they mash the fruit into juice, but cannot drink.”

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 .