complete verse (Job 20:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 20:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “And when they think that they have found/gotten wealth,
    that is when trouble comes upon them unexpectedly and crush them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Even though he has much treasure, suffering will overtake him,
    all kinds of trouble will come upon him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “In his abundance, difficulty will-arrive to him. Severe suffering will-come to him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When they are extremely prosperous/wealthy,
    they will suddenly experience a lot of trouble.
    Misery will strike them and crush them /They will suffer very greatly.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 20:22

In the fulness of his sufficiency he will be in straits: the wicked man is now said to be in trouble “at the height of his success, wealth.” He cannot find satisfaction no matter how much he succeeds nor how much wealth he obtains. It is not the absence of satisfaction that strikes him, but more actively, “anguish takes hold of, seizes him.” This line may be rendered, for example, “When he has acquired everything he is full of trouble,” “No matter how much wealth he has, he is never happy,” or “Even though he succeeds in all he does, anguish gets him down.”

All the force of misery will come upon him is literally “Every hand of the unfortunate will come on him.” The Septuagint and Vulgate make a change in the text to get the rendering of Revised Standard Version. Force of misery translates the Hebrew “hand of the unfortunate,” which implies striking a blow. In figurative terms “misery strikes him down,” or “all the weight of misery will crush him” (Good News Translation). In some languages the line may have to be restructured to say “misery will grab him like a person grabs something with his hand,” or without the figure, “he will suffer greatly.”

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 .