too numerous / without number

The Hebrew that is translated as some form of “too numerous” or “without number” in these verses in English is translated in the widely-used Mandarin Chinese Union Version with a historical 4-character Chinese idiom: bùkě shèngshǔ (不可勝數 / 不可胜数), literally “can’t be successfully counted.”

See also cannot be counted / without number.

complete verse (Job 9:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 9:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “He does amazing and unknown things
    and they are so many that they cannot be counted.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He does great incomprehensible works
    and innumerable amazing works.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He performs amazing things and miracles that can- not -be-fathomed and can- not -be-counted.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Only he does great things that we cannot understand;
    he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

work(s) (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-ude (みわざ) or “work (of God)” in the referenced verses.

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

respectful form of "do" (nasaru)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, nasaru (なさる), the respectful form of suru (する) or “do,” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Job 9:10

Who does great things beyond understanding: this verse repeats the thought of Eliphaz’s words in 5.9, perhaps with a touch of irony. Marvelous things without number: this line parallels the previous line in both meaning and structure. There is little rhetorical heightening, however. In translation it may be necessary to indicate the ones possessing understanding; for example, “beyond the understanding of people” or “far greater than people can understand.” Without number may be rendered “More marvelous things than a person can count.”

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 .