complete verse (Job 38:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 38:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “I keep those things waiting for the days of trouble,
    for the day of uproar and battle.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “(which I have spared for the time of crises,
    or for the time of war and battle)?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This ice I reserve for the time of trouble and for the time of battle.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Job 38:23

Which I have reserved for the time of trouble: this line begins with a relative particle translated as which, connecting verse 23 to verse 22. God has kept snow and hail for the time of trouble.

The day of battle and war makes specific what is meant by the parallel time of trouble in line a. God threw hailstones down on the Amorites in Joshua 10.11 as they fled from Israel. Battle and war appear to be a fixed pair of expressions. No attempt is made to distinguish these as different kinds of events. In some languages it may be necessary to adjust verse 23 to say, for example, “I have kept them stored up in case of troubles when there is a war” or “I keep them stored for the times when people fight and have wars.”

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 .