complete verse (Job 4:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 4:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Your words have encouraged those who had lost hope,
    and you have strengthened those who had no strength.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Your words gave support to those who were staggering.
    You gave strength to the weak knees.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Your (sing.) words have-made-firm the weak and falling-down.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “By what you said, you have helped those who needed spiritual help/almost quit trusting in God ,
    and you have enabled them to become spiritually strong again.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 4:4

This verse has a pair of parallel lines which pick up the thought of “weak hands” from verse 3b and intensify it through the figures of stumbling and feeble knees. Stumbling is used in Proverbs 4.12b to refer to falling from the path of wisdom. Both stumbling and feeble knees are used metaphorically for failure in faithfulness to live in the right way. The words of instruction uphold the stumbler and firm up the feeble knees. Good News Translation rearranges the poetic parallelism into two clauses related as background condition to consequence: “When someone … your words encouraged him to stand.” Both metaphors are kept and put into line a. A further figure “stand” is introduced into line b. In some languages the figures will have to be replaced by nonfigures; for example, “By teaching people who needed help, you kept them living in the right way, and you were able to give them strength to go on.”

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 .