Gird up your loins like a man is used again in 40.7. In Jeremiah 1.17 this expression refers to preparing for a hard task, in Isaiah 5.27 preparing for battle, and in 1 Kings 18.46 for running. See also Luke 12.35. When undertaking tasks that required freedom of the legs, it was necessary to pull the long shirt tail or lower part of the robe up between the legs and fasten it around the waist and hips with a cord or belt. The expression is used figuratively here in the sense of “get ready for action.” Like a man translates a word for man that emphasizes “maleness” but is not the term meaning “strong man” or “warrior.” Good News Translation “stand up now like a man” expresses the thought well. We may also say, for example, “Be prepared like a man,” “get yourself ready….” In some languages this expression may be rendered idiomatically, for example, as “pull up your clothing,” “tighten your belt,” “tie up your waist band.” In many languages, however, a nonfigurative expression such as “get ready” will be used. It is possible in some languages to combine the figurative and nonfigurative expressions.

Declare to me translates “make me know” and has been used by Job when addressing God in 10.2; 13.23, and by Elihu in 37.19 when speaking to Job. In this line God states clearly his course of action: “I am going to ask you questions and you are going to answer me.”

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 .