For he adds rebellion to his sin: Elihu has tried to obtain a confession from Job, and this appears now to have failed. Job’s refusal to confess his sin is therefore the rebellion which he adds to his sin of accusing God of acting unjustly. Dhorme and Pope transfer rebellion (translated “transgression”) to line b in order to get a better balance of lines. Rebellion or “revolt” means “to turn against, become disloyal to.” Some possible ways of expressing the line are: “He not only sins, he also revolts against God,” “He is a sinner and a rebel against God,” “He is not only a sinner but is also disloyal to God,” or “He is a sinner and says ‘No!’ to God.”

He claps his hands among us: his hands is not in the Hebrew text and has to be supplied in English. Dhorme and Pope propose changing the Hebrew verb translated claps to get “to doubt,” and so Dhorme has “In our midst he casts doubt upon his transgressions,” the last word having been brought over from the preceding line. Bible en français courant is similar, with “He ends up by casting doubt among us.” Good News Translation understands it as ridicule and translates “in front of us all he mocks God.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says the verb translated claps means “to suffice” or “to strike” and offers two suggestions: “amongst us he fights (with words),” which means “he disputes with us.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project‘s other suggestion confirms Good News Translation‘s translation, and this is to be preferred.

And multiplies his words against God is Elihu’s final observation in this chapter. Not only does Job mock God, he is also accused of “making long speeches, arguing at great length against God.” Good News Translation does not appear to have translated this line, or to have incorporated it into the previous line either; the translators may have thought it was sufficiently implicit in “he adds rebellion,” but for most languages this will not be adequate. We may translate verse 37, for example, “He sins and says ‘No’ to God; he makes fun of God and never stops his talking.” In some languages a gesture may be used for mocking or scorning God; for example, “he shakes sticks at God” or “he blows through his lips at God.”

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 .