Eliphaz now summarizes his thoughts. For God abases the proud: as the Good News Translation footnote says, the Hebrew of this line is unclear. Fortunately the next line is clear enough: but he saves the lowly. The person in line b is described in Hebrew as having “downcast eyes” and is in contrast to the proud person in line a. Line a is literally “When they have humbled you, you say ‘Pride!’ ” The words “humbled” and “pride” have been the subject of numerous proposals for change, but few agreements. However, “you said” is generally felt to be out of place. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation supply God as the subject of the active verb abases and translate line a as “God humbles the proud,” which is clearly in contrast to but he saves the lowly. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives the Hebrew text a “B” rating and attempts to keep it by offering two renderings: (a) “When they are brought low, you will say: ‘restoration’ and he (God) will save (the man with) lowered eyes”; and (b) “When they are brought low, you will say: ‘(it is because of) pride,’ but (the man with) lowered eyes he (that is, God) saves.” The second alternative can be translated into English as “When a person is humbled you say it is because he was proud, but God saves the humble person.” Verse 29 may also be rendered, for example, “When God humbles people you say he did it because they were proud, but it is God’s way of saving them.”

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 .

In the dark they dig through houses: this line does not continue the description of the adulterer but passes on to tell what the thief does. They dig is in the Hebrew “he digs.” The verb in the next line has “they” as subject, and so Revised Standard Version and others change to they in this line. Good News Translation shifts to a more general kind of entry with “Thieves break into houses.” The Hebrew expression is equivalent to Matthew 6.19. Compare also John 10.1. Dig through houses means to “dig, pierce, bore” a hole in the walls of houses. This practice is referred to in Ezekiel 8.8; 12.5, 7, 12. It is a common practice in some areas for thieves to gain entrance to a building by making a hole through the back wall, where they will not be seen. Revised Standard Version does not say directly that this is the work of thieves, but translators should make it clear, as in Good News Translation “At night thieves break into houses.” If the expression “dig through the walls of houses” is apt to be misunderstood, it is better to follow Good News Translation. We may also say, for example, “thieves make holes in the walls of houses” or “thieves get into houses by making a hole in the wall.”

By day they shut themselves up: since Hebrew has a singular subject in the first line and a plural here, some interpreters have understood this line to refer to all three groups of evildoers. Others, such as Good News Translation, take verse 16 to refer to the thieves only. Both views are possible. The Hebrew verb in this line usually means “to seal something shut,” as in sealing a document. New English Bible agrees with King James Version in interpreting the verb as referring to the thief going about in the daylight, marking the doors of suitable houses for robbing: “and in the darkness breaks into houses which he has marked down in the day.” This involves altering the verb to the singular to refer to the thief. But the verb nowhere else has the meaning given to it here in New English Bible, and no thief would be likely to attach his personal seal to a house or door in this way so that he could later be identified. So most translators interpret the verb to mean shut themselves in the dark. This line may also be expressed “they stay indoors during the day” or “in the daytime they keep themselves hidden.”

They do not know the light: because they keep themselves shut up in the dark during the day, and only go out to do evil in the night, “they are unfamiliar with the light,” “they do not know what is in the daylight,” or “they have no idea what the daylight is like.”

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 .

In this verse Job finally states what it is he will swear to refrain from doing: my lips will not speak falsehood. My lips is a part of Job representing his whole being. Falsehood translates the same Hebrew word used in 13.7, where Good News Translation translated “lying.” In the negative this line may be rendered “I will never tell lies,” or positively, “I will always speak the truth.” The Hebrew word may refer to wickedness or evil, but in the context of speaking and lips, it is to be taken as falsehood or lying.

And my tongue will not utter deceit: tongue is parallel to lips in line a. Utter translates a word that is parallel with “speak” in Psalm 37.30 and has here the same meaning as in line a. The word translated deceit is used in parallel with falsehood in 13.7 (“falsely … deceitfully”). Aside from the changes in images, these two lines say the same thing. Good News Translation, which often reduces synonymous lines to one to avoid monotony of style in English, keeps both lines, including lips and tongue. Translators who find it best to shift “As God lives” to verse 4 should express the oath in a fully idiomatic manner, provided it is acceptable in the mouth of Job; for example, “I tell this truth and God hears my words; I will not lie,” “I say this before God who lives; I will not lie,” “May God who hears me strike me dead if I tell lies.” Translators may find the thought of line b is adequately expressed by line a, or may incorporate it into line a; for example, “I will not lie and will deceive no one.”

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 .

It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir: the verb translated valued occurs only here and in verse 19, and in another form in Lamentations 4.2 (“worth their weight”). It has to do with weighing to determine value and is adequately translated in English by Revised Standard Version or by saying “You cannot measure its worth….” In the expression gold of Ophir, the word for gold is again different, but coupled with Ophir it clearly refers to a fine quality of gold. Ophir was used in 22.24 as the name of a place known for its gold. See there for comments. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “One cannot pay for it with the most precious gold.”

In precious onyx or sapphire: the word translated onyx is paired with “fine gold” in Genesis 2.12. The identification of the precious stones named in this verse is not possible. The one translated onyx has been rendered by many other names of gems, such as sardonyx, beryl, carnelian, and malachite. It was found on the breast plate of the high priest’s robe (Exo 28.20), and on the ephod (Exo 25.7). Sapphire is the same gem as in verse 6. Good News Translation avoids reference to any specific gems by saying “The finest gold and jewels cannot equal its value.” Since the exact nature of these gems is uncertain, a translation using generic terms such as Good News Translation is quite adequate.

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 .

After I spoke they did not speak again: Job always had the last word. What he said was final, and people did not argue with him.

And my word dropped upon them: dropped, as used in Revised Standard Version, suggests a single act. The Hebrew verb, however, suggests the dripping of a liquid, drop after drop, and so Good News Translation “My words sank in like drops of rain” conveys the idea accurately and in a pleasing manner. This line may be rendered, for example, “my words were pleasant to them like drops of rain” or “my words fell on them like rain drops on dry ground.”

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 .

I am a brother of jackals: jackals and ostriches inhabit the deserts and are known for their mournful cries. The jackal resembles the fox in appearance, but, unlike the fox, jackals go about in bands.

And a companion of ostriches: 39.13-18 contains a detailed description of the ostrich. Job associates himself with these animals as brother and companion. It is unlikely that he means he lives with them in the desert. Instead he compares his pleas, his crying out to God and to the public, with their mournful wails in the desert, where no one replies. Good News Translation translates “My voice is as sad and lonely as the cries of a jackal or an ostrich.” Bible en français courant has “By my sad cries, I have become a companion of jackals and a brother to the ostrich,” which seems to fit French style better. In languages which must indicate older or younger brother, it will be best to use the term for “younger brother” to emphasize Job’s dependence and inferior feelings. In many languages jackal may be translated by the word for “fox.” If, however, the fox is unknown, it may be possible to substitute another animal known to make mournful cries. If these solutions are unsatisfactory, it may be possible to use a borrowed word and a classifier; for example, “a wild animal called….” A term for ostrich is more difficult because it is found in fewer areas. Because of the peculiarities of the ostrich, it is harder to find an equivalent bird. Furthermore, the ostrich is described in some detail in chapter 39. Consequently, if the ostrich is unknown, it will often be best to use a borrowed word; for example, “big bird called….” If this solution is unsatisfactory, it may be possible to say “big bird.” In any case, it will be helpful to have an illustration of the ostrich in chapter 39.

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 .

This verse appears to some as a natural conclusion and climax of Job’s final speech (chapters 29–31). Verses 38-40 that now form the conclusion appear to be out of place, but translators are not agreed where else they should be inserted. New Jerusalem Bible puts them after verse 15; New English Bible after verse 28; Pope and New American Bible after verse 8; Dhorme after verse 32; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch between verses 34 and 35; and Moffatt between verses 22 and 24. However, the position taken by the Handbook, following Habel’s outline, is that verse 37 is the end of the inner frame, and verses 38-40 make up the end of the outer frame. Therefore there is no need to change the position of any verse. See the introduction to chapter 31, page 558.

I would give him an account of all my steps: in 14.16 and 31.4 Job accepts that God counts his steps as expressing the totality of Job’s actions. As Good News Translation says, “I would tell God everything I have done.” In some languages one may be able to stay closer to the Hebrew form than Good News Translation does by saying, for example, “I would report to him every step I have taken” or “I would explain to him every thing I have done.”

Like a prince I would approach him: prince translates a word meaning “chief, leader, or ruler,” one who is in control. Nowhere else in the Old Testament is anyone said to approach God like a prince. The simile refers to the attitude of someone who has no reason to feel guilty or debased by his wrong, and is symbolized in Good News Translation as “hold my head high in his presence.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “with dignity,” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “and approach him like a prince without fear.” Also possible are “I would present myself to him like a chief who is not afraid” or “I would stand before him like a proud leader.”

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 .