scattering winds

In Gbaya, the notion of a light breeze in Job 37:9 is emphasized with yiriri, an ideophone that expresses a gentle breath like a light breeze.

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

complete verse (Job 37:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 37:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “The whirlwind blows and turns around itself
    and a serious hoar frost spears/pinches people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Wind and rain come from their place,
    cold comes from harsh wind.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The storm and the cool/freezing wind comes-out of its place-of-hiding.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “It was I, not you, who caused clouds to come over the seas
    and caused it to become very dark under those clouds.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 37:9

From its chamber comes the whirlwind is the poet’s way of speaking of the area, region, zone out of which winds blow. In 9.9 the expression used is “chamber of the south,” in which the word for south occurs. Some interpreters understand its chamber here to refer to the same place as the more specific “chamber of the south” in 9.9. This is followed by Dhorme, Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, and Moffatt. Revised Standard Version and others use only chamber. Good News Translation does not refer to a place which chamber represents, but refers to the direction only, which is the natural manner of speaking of winds in English. Bible en français courant translates similarly, with “From the south comes the hurricane.” Whirlwind, which may refer more generally to “hurricane, tempest, storm winds,” is used in 21.18; 27.20. It is recommended that translators follow Good News Translation, since Revised Standard Version makes the thought somewhat vague. We may also say more poetically than Good News Translation “Out of the south where they live come the storm winds.” This thought will be expressed in some languages according to local geography; for example, “From down river where the winds come, they begin to blow.”

And cold from the scattering winds translates two words in Hebrew, literally “from the scatterers cold.” “The scatterers” may be handled as in Revised Standard Version. However, Dhorme cites the Koran as using the same term to refer to the north winds that scatter the rain. While the words “south” and “north” do not occur in either line of verse 9, in some languages directions are the only recognized manner of speaking of winds. In such cases Bible en français courant may be followed, which translates the whole of verse 9 “From the south comes the hurricane, from the north the cold.” It is possible to stick closer to the Hebrew form, but this should not be done at the expense of clarity.

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 .