He took a potsherd with which to scrape himself: a potsherd is a broken piece of pottery and would be plentiful in rubbish heaps in the Middle East. The action described here was either to get relief or to cut his flesh as a sign of mourning (Lev 19.28; Deut 14.1). All translations consulted prefer “scrape” or “scratch.” In language areas where pottery making is not practiced, it will be necessary to use a different object; for example, “a piece of bone” or “a sharp stone.”

In order to call attention to his grief, Job sat among the ashes. The verse has two clauses. Sat among the ashes connects with what precedes. Good News Translation puts this clause at the beginning: “Job went and sat by the garbage dump.” In Hebrew this is a circumstantial clause, that is to say, one that describes the circumstances of the main clause; it can be rendered “Job, meanwhile, was sitting among the ashes,” or “… among the ashes of the garbage heap,” or “… ashes where people burn what they throw away.” The Septuagint has “on the dung hill” and adds the words “outside the city.” It is probably best to maintain a chronological order as Good News Translation does. In many language areas there is no area designated for disposing of ashes or rubbish, and it will be necessary to make clear that Job is sitting in ashes as a sign of mourning; for example, “as was the custom while mourning for the dead, Job sat in ashes.”

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 .