complete verse (Job 38:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 38:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “Do you maybe know how big the world is?
    Tell me, please, if you know.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Do you know how big the earth is?
    If you know this, tell me!” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Do- you (sing.) -know how big is the earth? Tell me if you (sing.) know all this!” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Job 38:18

Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? shifts the ironical questions away from Sheol to the earth. Here God asks Job if he understands how large the earth is. The word translated as expanse can mean “width” or more generally “the dimensions.” Good News Translation is clear with “how big the earth is.” The rhetorical question is not intended to ask for a reply but to emphasize Job’s ignorance of the size of the earth.

Declare, if you know all this: line b serves to group the previous questions into a small subdivision of the longer series of challenging questions.

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 .