tossing and turning

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in these verses as “tossing,” “waver,” or “rolling about” in English is translated in the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version with a historical Chinese idiom: fān lái fù qù (翻來覆去 / 翻来覆去) or “tossing and turning (lit. “turn over and back”).” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

See also rolled about.

complete verse (Job 7:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 7:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “When I lie down (to sleep) it is like it will never dawn.
    I struggle much and when it is about to dawn it is hard.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When I lie down to sleep, I think, "When will I wake up?"
    But the night gets long and I turn over from side to side until morning.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When I lie-down at night-time I think when will- it -be-morning. The clicking/[lit. walking] of the hours are slow. I just keep-turning/tossing until dawn.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Job 7:4

There is considerable variation in the translations of this verse. Some render the opening clause as a condition, “If I lie down,” while others prefer a continuous state, “Lying in bed,” and others again as a dependent time clause, “When I lie down.”

When I lie down refers to going to bed to sleep at night. I say is the literal Hebrew form, but the meaning in the context is something like “I ask myself” or “I wonder.” When shall I arise? is not a question concerning what time to get up in the morning, but rather an expression of the tiresome length of the night while waiting anxiously for dawn. But the night is long emphasizes the slow passage of the night and the wearisome delay of the dawn. I am full of tossing till the dawn: the expression I am full or “I am filled” is the preferred Hebrew text (an “A” decision, according to Hebrew Old Testament Text Project) but may not be an appropriate translation in some languages. Full of tossing means turning over and over in bed while not being able to fall asleep, and may sometimes be rendered “I keep turning on my bed until dawn comes” or “I turn over again and again until I see the light of morning.”

Good News Translation has reduced the three Hebrew lines to two. New English Bible modifies the text, as do some of the ancient versions, and gets four lines. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has shifted the order of clauses to say “I lie down and the night becomes endless for me. I grow tired from tossing till dawn and think to myself: ‘When will I ever get up?’ ” Translators may feel that some adjustments of order will make the flow of ideas more coherent, such as placing the question When shall I arise? at the end, as in Biblia Dios Habla Hoy. Good News Translation has avoided this problem by recasting the question into a statement which follows logically, “The hours drag.” This expression means that the hours pass by slowly, and combines both the question and the following line But the night is long.

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 .