complete verse (Job 28:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 28:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “When (they) drill through those clefts/ravines,
    they find amazing stones.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They dig tunnels through the heaps of rock.
    Their eyes will see every precious stone.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They dig/[lit. make-a-hole] a pathway in the big rocks/stones, and they see the different-kinds of precious stones.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “and even the most important men became quiet
    and ceased talking in order to hear me speak to them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

textual location of Job 28:1-28

According to the Job translation by Greenstein (2019), Job 28:1-28 should be located following Job 37:24. He explains:

“In the preceding passage (37:14-24), Elihu describes the uncanny marvels of the created world in the upper realm, in the sky. In the present passage (chapter 28), Elihu continues to describe a world that is beyond human comprehension, now focusing on the lower realm, the earth and, more particularly, the subterranean, which includes both the netherworld—the domain of the dead—and the sea that was believed to lie beneath the land. The passage is structured by two questions that ask, Where can (divine) wisdom be found? The question turns out to be a riddle, for the answer is not about where, but when (see verses 25-27).

“Modern commentators tend to regard chapter 28, which does not comport with Job’s perspectives, as an independent poem that cannot be attributed to any of the known speakers. The assumption that the poem is autonomous is highly problematic. Biblical poems do not begin with the conjunction ki, ‘for, because,’ as this passage does. There is no antecedent to the pronoun ‘he’ in verse 3. But more important, the motif of esoteric wisdom lying beyond human reach typically includes both the above and the below (see for example Job 11:7-8; Deuteronomy 30:11-13; Jeremiah 31:36; as well the Babylonian hymn to the sun god Shamash). The conclusion of this passage (28:28) echoes the conclusion of the survey of the heavenly wonders in 37:24, and it is following that passage that this one belongs.”

Translation commentary on Job 28:10

He cuts out channels in the rocks: the word translated channels is commonly used in the singular to refer to the Nile. Here it is used as in Isaiah 33.21, as a poetic parallel with the singular term for river translated “streams” in the next verse. The word may refer to the canals along the Nile. Accordingly New Jerusalem Bible translates “He cuts canals through the rock.” Another possibility is that the channels are either drainage gutters or sluices connected with the mining operation. Cuts translates the same word used in Psalm 74.15, where Revised Standard Version translates “Thou didst cleave open springs and brooks.” Good News Translation uses “tunnel through the rocks,” which is expressive and very likely says what the poet meant.

And his eye sees every precious thing: his eye sees is a poetic manner of saying “he sees,” but it has also an element of close attention, as if he is carefully watching for something as he works. The expression is used in 7.7; 13.1a; 29.11. It is more than seeing and passing on, and so Good News Translation translates “discover.” New Jerusalem Bible says “on the watch for.” Every precious thing is general, but in the context it naturally refers to precious stones or ores: “he watches carefully to find every precious stone” or “he watches every rock to find anything that is valuable.”

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 .