They gather their fodder in the field: this line continues to describe the struggle of the poor as they try to find food to maintain their meager existence. Their fodder is in the Hebrew “his fodder.” See the Revised Standard Version footnote. However, the meaning of this word is far from certain. There are at least three other ways to interpret it: (a) New Jerusalem Bible says “field of some scoundrel,” where the word is taken to be the same as used in 1 Samuel 25.25, translated as “good-for-nothing” by Good News Translation; (b) by changing the vowels only, some get the meaning “at night,” and so Dhorme “In the fields during the night they reap”; (c) Good News Translation and New English Bible divide the Hebrew word into two parts, one part being a negative, and so meaning “they don’t own” or “what is not theirs.” This is one of the recommendations of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. See the explanation in the Good News Translation footnote. Fodder is not human food, and so Revised Standard Version is not a satisfactory rendering. Good News Translation and New English Bible are preferred. This line may also be rendered, for example, “They have to pick up what they can in other people’s fields” or “They are forced to gather up something to eat from other people’s fields.”

And they glean the vineyard of the wicked man: glean, meaning to gather what is left in the fields after the harvest, translates a word found only here, and its meaning is not certain. Good News Translation does not say glean, which was the legitimate work of the poor. It seems that the poor are taking the grapes without asking. Good News Translation remains somewhat neutral with “gather grapes,” whereas New English Bible says “filch the late grapes.” “Filch” means to steal. New Jerusalem Bible “pilfering in the vineyards” has the same meaning. Wicked man is sometimes translated “rich man” or “the rich.” The wicked oppressed the poor and took their lands, and consequently became rich. In this context wicked has the sense of “rich, wealthy.” A vineyard is a field of cultivated grape vines on which the grapes grow. In languages in which vineyards are unknown, it may be best to shift to “fields” or “gardens”; for example, “and they steal their food from the rich people’s gardens.”

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 .