He will not look upon the rivers, the streams …: this verse is difficult to understand. He will not look upon is generally agreed to mean “He will not live to see.” However, the preposition which follows the word translated look gives the sense of seeing with pleasure or satisfaction, so Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “He will not be able to enjoy,” which can also be translated “He will not live to enjoy.” The word translated rivers is a rare word in Hebrew and is followed by the more familiar word for river translated streams in Revised Standard Version. Some scholars believe that the common word was inserted later to explain the meaning of the less common word. Consequently some suggest a change in streams to get “oil,” which Good News Translation translates as “olive oil.” Good News Translation appears to have used streams twice, once as “olive oil” and once as “streams,” in order to get a better set of parallel lines. The figure “rivers of olive oil” would refer to great wealth and blessings. New English Bible, following the Septuagint, translates “rivers of cream.” The wicked will not be able to share in this blessing, and the first line may also be rendered, for example, “He will not have a part in rivers that flow with oil” or, if this is unclear, “He will not share in the blessings of prosperity” or “He will not receive the wealth and blessings God gives his people.”

Streams flowing with honey and curds: in Isaiah 7.15 the order is “curds and honey.” Curds refers to the coagulated or thickened milk for making cheese. It was much valued as a refreshment, as in Judges 5.25. “Milk,” “butter,” “cream,” and “curds” are all used to translate the Hebrew word. In Exodus 3.8 God spoke to Moses and told him that he had come to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt to a land “flowing with milk and honey.” There again the order is the reverse of that in our verse. This phrase is another figure of prosperity and well-being. In some languages it may be necessary to adjust this line to say, for example, “and the vast amounts of honey and milk that God gives his people.” If these figures must be set aside, the translator may say, for example, “He will not see prosperity flowing like a river” or “He will not see the blessings from God that are as plentiful as a river full of water.”

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 .