hushed

In Gbaya, the notion of voices of the princes being hushed in Job 29:10 is emphasized with sinyɔm, an ideophone that expresses the sensation of quietude and silence.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

silent / say nothing

The Hebrew that is translated as “silent” or “say nothing” in English is translated in the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version with two historical 4-character Chinese idioms: mòmò wúshēng (默默無聲 / 默默无声), mòmò bùyán (默默不言), jìngmò bù yán (靜默不言), or jìngmò wúshēng (靜默無聲 / 静默无声) all “silent (lit. “quiet – no sound [or: words]”).

See also silent / still, shut mouth / silence, and silent.

complete verse (Job 29:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 29:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those leaders did not say a word
    and those elders did not speak.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The voices of the noblemen would be stopped,
    their tongues would stick to the roofs of their mouths.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “and the noble men when- they -saw me.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Job 29:10

The voice of the nobles was hushed: nobles translates a word used in 31.37, where Revised Standard Version translates “prince.” The term suggests a leader who is below the rank of the “leaders” mentioned in verse 9, and in English, nobles is adequate. However, the context is most likely a town meeting, and Good News Translation distinguishes between the two bodies of officials as “leaders” in verse 9a and “the most important men” here. Although the verb here is the same as the verb in verse 8a, where it is translated as “withdrew,” it cannot have that meaning here; but hushed translates it well. This line may also be expressed as “the important men of the town became silent” or “the big men of the village stopped talking.”

And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth: in Psalm 137.6 the psalmist prays “Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you.” This entire line is reduced to “kept silent” by Good News Translation and attached to the first line of the verse. New Jerusalem Bible says “their tongues stayed still in their mouths.” In translation it is important to use a figurative expression which means “to keep silence.” In some areas a literal translation of this expression will appear so severe as to seem to be the result of a curse which Job’s presence placed on these men. Accordingly it will often be better to use a more appropriate expression, or to avoid the figure and follow Good News Translation.

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 .