What is man, that thou dost make so much of him: in Psalm 8.5 the psalmist asks the same question in an attitude of praise and marvel at God’s gracious care of his creatures. (See also Psalm 144.3 for a similar question.) Job’s attitude is very different from that of the psalmist. Job sees man as being insignificant, and this should be reason enough for God to turn his attention elsewhere and mind his own business. (Translators should review the discussion of irony in the introduction, “Translating the Book of Job,” page 19.) Make so much of him translates the causative form of a Hebrew verb which takes on the meaning of “extol, magnify.” In the present context it means “appreciate, think highly of.” The form of this question must often be restructured in translation; for example, “Why is a human being so important to you?” or “Why are people so important that you pay attention to them?” Set thy mind upon him is expressed in Hebrew as “place the heart on” and refers to mental action such as “concentrate on, pay attention to.” In 1 Samuel 4.20 the same expression is used of the mother of Ichabod, who did not pay attention to the women who told her she had given birth to a son. In English the literal expression “set the heart on something” means to desire to possess or accomplish it, which is not the sense in this passage.

Translators should keep in mind that these verses represent some of the most ironic remarks Job makes. In some cases it may be better to shift from the rhetorical questions to negative statements; for example, “I wish you would not think so highly of people, or pay so much attention to them.”

In Revised Standard Version verses 17-21a are translated as rhetorical and why-questions. In some languages these may need to be recast as statements or as statements combined with questions.

Verse 18 continues the generalized introduction. Visit him every morning: the Hebrew term for visit has a wide range of meaning according to the particular context. Here it means “observe, investigate, inspect, pay attention to.” Good News Translation “inspect him every morning” is more precise and satisfactory than Revised Standard Version. In some languages the sense of visit used here is expressed idiomatically; for example, “You put your eyes on him every morning” or “You sniff at him each time the sun rises.” Test him every moment: the word translated test is used of discovering the degree of purity of a metal, and is used metaphorically to mean to examine carefully. Visit and test are parallel in meaning, with the second being more specific. In the same manner morning in line a is paralleled by the smaller time unit moment in line b. Line b has the effect of heightening both the time and the event.

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 .