Verses 38-39 are translated as “if” clauses followed by the consequence in the form of a curse called down on Job in verse 40. It was pointed out in the opening of this chapter that verses 38-40 balance Job’s opening statement in verses 1-4. Both relate to the covenant theme. In this end frame we encounter the earth or land crying out like a person, a reminder of the earth crying out for justice when Cain killed his brother in Genesis 4.10. In Deuteronomy 30.19 the earth was a witness in God’s covenant with Israel.

If my land has cried out against me: verse 38 does not give the reason why Job’s land would cry out against him. It is only in verse 39 that the reason comes to light. There the land could have been wrongfully acquired, and so Good News Translation drops the figurative language in verse 38 to say “If I have stolen the land I farm.” Some modern translations attempt to keep the image of the crying of the land; for example, Bible en français courant says “Have I driven the fields to complain about me?” New Jerusalem Bible “If my land cries for vengeance against me.” If the land cannot be pictured as a person in this way, the translator may have to use an expression similar to Good News Translation.

And its furrows have wept together: here Good News Translation creates a parallel line based on its first line, “and taken it from its rightful owners,” which means the same as “stolen the land” in the first line. In the parallelism of the Hebrew, the movement is from the general term for land in line a to a specific kind of land, furrows, in line b. If the poetic device of regarding the land as a person is unnatural in the language, the translator may follow Good News Translation. Furrows are rows that have been plowed in preparation for planting. Furrows are side by side, and if they wept, it would be “in concert” or together. Verse 38 may be expressed as a question; for example, “Have I caused the owners of lands to cry, or made them cry together as furrows for planting are together?”

If I have eaten its yield without payment: yield translates a term meaning “strength.” As in Genesis 4.12 it is the “strength” of the earth that produces crops, so that this line is “If I have eaten the crops, its produce, without paying for it” or “… profited freely from the harvests.” Verse 39, like verse 38, may be translated as an “if” clause, a statement, or a question. Whatever form the translator prefers to follow, the structure must be adapted to that used in verse 38 and to the consequence in verse 40.

And caused the death of its owners: in this line some interpreters focus on “causing death,” while others think it is speaking of “causing suffering by acting unjustly.” Revised Standard Version takes the former view, while Good News Translation takes it to refer to oppressing the farmers. The latter seems to be preferred. Bible en français courant says “without respecting the rights of their owners.” Good News Translation “farmers that grew it” seems to agree more with the meaning required by the context. These would not be independent land owners such as Job, but rather “workers” or “farm hands.” Verse 39 may also be expressed “If I have robbed anyone of his crops, or if I have exploited the farm workers.” This may also be expressed as a statement of denial; for example, “I have never robbed anyone of his crops, nor have I made peasants starve.”

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 .