complete verse (Job 31:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 31:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “What would God do to me if greed/desire made me do it?
    Would the God of power not punish me?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “What is the portion from heaven that God has chosen for man?
    What is the inheritance which the Almighty God has given from above.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “For what reward that the Almighty God in heaven will-give to what a person does?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

respectful form of "give" (kudasaru)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, kudasaru (下さる), a respectful form of kureru (くれる) or “give” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also respectful form of “give” (tamawaru) and give (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on Job 31:2

What would be my portion from God above…?: this verse consists of two rhetorical questions written as two lines that are parallel in meaning. Job is thinking here of his former days when he was prosperous and fortunate. At that time he expected his upright life to be rewarded with blessings. In his present state of suffering he knows that he was mistaken. In 21.7-16 Job argued that it is the wicked who prosper, and the innocent like himself are made to suffer. The words translated portion and heritage are the same as in 20.29 and 27.13. See there for discussion. God above is used also in 3.4. If the line is translated as a question, it may be rendered “What then would God do to me?” “What would my reward from God be?” or “How would God treat me?”

And my heritage from the Almighty on high?: Almighty on high translates “Shaddai from the heights,” which Dhorme says means the “heights of heaven.” In any event it has the same meaning as its parallel expression, God above. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy puts the question this way: “What is the reward the Almighty gives to every man from the heights of heaven?” This serves as a usable translation model for these two lines. Verse 2 may also be expressed “What would the Almighty in the highest heaven reward me?” or “How would the Almighty in the highest heavens treat me?” Since it is understood that God’s reward would be punishment, in some languages it may be better to translate this as a negative statement: “The Almighty in the highest heaven would give me no good reward.”

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 .