These two verses may be taken together, since verse 8 is the consequence of the “if” clause in verse 7. In the Hebrew verse 7 has three lines.

If my step has turned aside from the way: the thought here draws upon the thought of 23.11: “My foot has held fast to his steps. I have kept his way and have not turned aside.” The way refers to the path or way God has shown his followers as being right (Deut 9.12, 16). So Good News Translation translates “If I have turned from the right path.” We may also say, for example, “If my steps have wandered away from the path he has marked out.”

And my heart has gone after my eyes: as in verse 1 the thought is that the eyes are the means through which temptation comes. This is well rendered by Bible en français courant: “if my heart has followed the desires of my eyes.” Good News Translation is less poetic and more abstract with “let myself be attracted to evil.” In some languages the line may be rendered “and I have desired the things I look at,” “and my eyes have caused my heart to be led astray,” or “and my eyes have seen things that I have desired.”

And if any spot has cleaved to my hands: in 11.14; 16.17; and in Isaiah 1.15, the hands are depicted as being stained by sin. By contrast clean hands symbolize righteousness, as in 22.30 and Psalm 24.4. So the sense is “if my hands are dirtied by evil acts,” “if I have been soiled by doing evil things,” or “if I have become unclean by doing wrong.” There are also alternatives to the Hebrew text in this line. Good News Translation follows one which means “to stick,” together with a word whose meaning is probably “stain.” Alternatively the word translated “stain” may be a term meaning “anything,” an understanding probably influenced by Deuteronomy 13.17. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy seems to prefer the second alternative: “If anything foreign is found in my possession.” This rendering seems to fit well with the following verse, but most modern translators follow the understanding of the text taken in Good News Translation. If the translator follows Good News Translation, this line may be rendered, for example, “if my hands are dirtied by doing bad things” or, if hands is taken to represent the whole person, “if I have become stained by sin” or “if doing bad things has left a stain on me.”

In verse 8 Job calls down upon himself the punishment he would deserve if he had committed the sins in verse 7. Then let me sow, and another eat: for his punishment Job asks that the crops he plants should be eaten by someone who did not plant them. Good News Translation has reversed the two lines of verse 8. Then let me is not an appeal to someone but a dire consequence of his wrong. In some languages “let” or “may” statements must be reinforced; for example, “God take from me the food I raise and give it to others” or “God take my crops from me and let someone else eat them.”

And let what grows for me be rooted out: what grows for me translates a single Hebrew word meaning “my shoots” as in 5.25; 21.8; 27.14. It may refer to “offspring,” and Pope understands it this way: “and my offspring be uprooted.” However, given the context it seems best to take the meaning as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. This line may also be expressed, for example, “and take away from me the plants I cultivate” or “and destroy all my crops.”

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 .