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@ -1180,356 +1180,356 @@ front:intro u3jc 0 # Introduction to Job\n\n## Part 1: General Introduction\n
15:34 j494 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche וְ֝⁠אֵ֗שׁ אָכְלָ֥ה אָֽהֳלֵי־שֹֽׁחַד 1 Eliphaz is using one possession of wicked people, the **tents** in which they live, to mean all of their possessions and their standing in the community. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. See how you translated the similar expression in [8:22](../08/22.md). Alternate translation: “and those who practice bribery will be without status or means”
15:35 u7sb rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor הָרֹ֣ה עָ֭מָל וְ⁠יָ֣לֹד אָ֑וֶן וּ֝⁠בִטְנָ֗⁠ם תָּכִ֥ין מִרְמָֽה 1 Eliphaz is speaking as if wicked people were literally women who had **trouble**, **iniquity**, and **deceit** as their children. He means that wicked people produce these things in their lives. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “They think of bad things to do and they do wicked things, yes, they intentionally deceive others”
16:intro j3zc 0 # Job 16 General Notes\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\nThis chapter is the beginning of Job’s response to Eliphaz’s second speech. In verses 1–6, Job complains that his friends have not helped him with their advice. In verses 7–22, Job describes how he feels God has made him suffer. Job briefly addresses God directly in verses 7 and 8.\n\nThe ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is poetry.\n\n## Special Concepts in This Chapter\n\n### “witness,” “advocate,” and “intercessor”\n\n In verses 19–21, Job describes the need for someone to plead his case to God in heaven. This is likely the same figure whom Job calls his “redeemer” in [19:25](../19/25.md). Although Job does not seem to be giving a prophecy knowingly about the Messiah, the role that he describes closely parallels the way that Jesus intercedes for people in heaven. He says that such a person would testify that he had not done wrong (be his “witness”), take his side (be his “advocate”), and plead with God not to punish him (be his “intercessor”). In your translation, use words that describe someone in your culture who does these things for another person. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/intercede]] and [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/testimony]])\n\n## Translation Issues in This Chapter\n\n Variation between singular and plural “you”\n\nIn verses 1–8, Job sometimes uses the singular form of “you” to address either Eliphaz or God and he sometimes uses the plural form of “you” to address all three of his friends together. Notes identify which form he is using in each instance so that you can use the appropriate form in your translation if your language marks a distinction between singular and plural “you.”
16:2 j497 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular all of you 1 As the context suggests, the word **you** is plural here because Job is using it to refer to his three friends. So use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:2 t7wj rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession comforters of trouble 1 Job is not using this possessive form not to say that his friends are providing comfort to **trouble**. He is using the form to say that in their attempts to be his **comforters**, they are causing him further trouble. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “troublesome counselors”
16:3 p7ga rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion {Is there} an end to words of wind? Or what compels you that you answer? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: “I wish that you would stop speaking these words of wind! I do not think anything compels you to answer.”
16:3 g4tp rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor to words of wind 1 Job is answering Eliphaz with his own words. See how you translated the similar expression in [15:2](../15/02.md). Alternate translation: “to insubstantial words” or “to such bluster”
16:3 j498 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular you answer 1 The word **you** is singular here because Job is using it to refer only to Eliphaz, who has just spoken to him. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:4 j499 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche if your souls were where my soul is 1 Job is using one part of himself and his friends, their **souls**, to mean all of them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if you were in my place”
16:4 j500 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular like you & your souls & against you & at you 1 The word **you** is plural in each of these instances because Job is using it to refer to his three friends. So use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:4 mg21 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy I would join words together 1 Job is using the term **words** to mean the things that he would say by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I would say one thing after another”
16:4 bv7s rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction and I would shake my head at you 1 To **shake** the **head** at someone is a symbolic action indicating disapproval. This action may have the same meaning in your culture. If not, your culture may have a comparable gesture that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “and I would point my finger at you”
16:5 j501 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-irony I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips would relieve {you} 1 For emphasis, Job is saying the opposite of what he means. He does not feel that his friends actually have been strengthening him or relieving him. If a speaker of your language would not say the opposite of what he means for emphasis, in your translation you could indicate what Job actually means. Alternate translation: “I would say things such as you have been saying, thinking that I was strengthening and comforting you, even though saying such things would actually make you feel worse, as you have been making me feel worse”
16:4 i21i rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular I would strengthen you 1 The word **you** is plural here because Job is using it to refer to his three friends. So use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:5 dvh6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy with my mouth, and the moving of my lips 1 Job is using the terms **mouth** and **lips** by association to mean speaking. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “by what I said, and the things that I spoke”
16:6 vjz7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive my pain is not relieved 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “that does not relieve my pain”
16:6 s8sf rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion what goes from me? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “that does not make the pain go away”
16:7 t7qh rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns he has exhausted me 1 The pronoun **he** most likely refers to God, since the following pronoun **you** seems clearly to address God. Job seems to be referring to God in the third person in order to make a transition from speaking to his friends, and he then seems to be addressing God directly in the second person. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “you, God, have exhausted me”
16:7 mrz6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular you have devastated 1 The word **you** is singular here because Job is using it to refer to God. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:8 pz4y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification and you have shriveled me— it has become a witness, and my leanness rises up against me, it testifies against my face. 1 Job is speaking as if his **shriveled** condition, his **leanness**, were a living thing that was serving as a **witness** and testifying against him. He means that people consider him to be guilty of sin because they believe that God is punishing him with a sickness that has made him lose weight. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and because you have afflicted me with a sickness that has made me emaciated, people consider that to be evidence that I have sinned”
16:8 z1f4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular and you have shriveled me 1 The word **you** is singular here because Job is using it to refer to God. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:8 wiw6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche against my face 1 Here the word **face** could mean: (1) Job himself, using one part of him to represent all of him. Alternate translation: “against me” (2) Job’s reputation as a righteous person, in a specific sense of the word **face**. Alternate translation: “against my good reputation”
16:9 a6fe rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor he has torn {me} and he has attacked me 1 Job is speaking as if God were literally a wild animal that had **attacked** and **torn** him. If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as a comparison. Alternate translation: “he has been like a wild animal tearing and attacking me”
16:9 crc6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-infostructure he has torn {me} and he has attacked me 1 Since a wild animal would attack its prey before tearing it, it might be more natural to reverse the order of these clauses. Alternate translation: “he has attacked me and he has torn me”
16:9 j503 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction he gnashes his teeth against me 1 This action expresses strong anger. If there is a similar gesture in your culture, you could consider using it here in your translation. You could also indicate the meaning of this gesture. Alternate translation: “he is so angry at me that he grinds his teeth together”
16:9 c555 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor sharpens his eyes against me 1 Job is speaking as if God, whom he believes is acting towards him as an **enemy**, were literally sharpening his **eyes**, the way one would sharpen a sword in order to use it dangerously as a weapon. He means that God is focusing his eyes intently on him to recognize ways to attack him further and to ensure that he does not escape. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “focuses his eyes intently on me”
16:10 i21w rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction They have gaped at me with their mouth 1 Opening the mouth wide at someone was a symbolic action that expressed ridicule. If there is a similar gesture in your culture, you could consider using it here in your translation. You could also indicate the meaning of this gesture. Alternate translation: “They open their mouths wide at me in order to ridicule me”
16:10 j504 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-collectivenouns with their mouth 1 Since Job is speaking of many people, it may be more natural in your language to use the plural form of **mouth**. Alternate translation: “with their mouths”
16:11 mm84 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy the hands of 1 Here, **hands** represents the power and control that people have over something. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the power of”
16:11 j505 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj the wicked 1 Job is using the adjective **wicked** as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
16:11 zm7g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor he throws me 1 Job is speaking as if God were literally throwing him **into the hands of the wicked**. He means that God is abandoning him to whatever it is that wicked people would want to do to him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he abandons me”
16:12 t8kc rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor but he has shattered me, yes, he has seized my neck and shaken me to pieces 1 Job is speaking as if God has literally **shattered** him, breaking him into many parts, and **seized** his neck and **shaken** him **to pieces**. He means that God has destroyed everything important in his life—his possessions, his family, and his health. If it would be clearer in your language, you could express this as a comparison, as the UST does, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but he has destroyed my possessions, my family, and my health”
16:12 nt7z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor And he has set me up as a target for him 1 Job is speaking as if God has literally **set** him **up as a target**. (He continues this image in the first line of the next verse.) He means that it seems as if God has harmed him very intentionally. If it would be clearer in your language, you could express this as a comparison, as the UST does, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Yes, it seems as if he has harmed me very intentionally”
16:13 kx4d rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor his archers have surrounded me 1 Job is speaking as if **archers** whom God commands have literally **surrounded** him. He means that God has caused him to experience many different troubles. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly, as long as you also used plain language in the last sentence of the previous verse. Alternate translation: “he has caused me to experience many troubles”
16:13 j506 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns He pierces & and he does not spare & he pours 1 The pronouns **He** and **he** refer to God. Job means that God is doing these things through the symbolic **archers** that he describes in the previous sentence. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use plural pronouns to show that this is a continuation of the image of the archers. Alternate translation: “They pierce my kidneys and do not spare; they pour my bile on the ground”
16:13 j507 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit He pierces my kidneys and he does not spare; he pours my bile on the ground 1 Job means implicitly that these archers are seeking mercilessly to kill him by shooting their arrows into his vital organs. (By saying that God **pours** his **bile** on the **ground**, Job means that God’s archers have pierced his liver as well as his **kidneys**, since the liver produces bile and that fluid would spill out of the body if the liver were pierced.) You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “They are seeking mercilessly to kill me by shooting their arrows into my vital organs”
16:13 e7bp rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He pierces my kidneys and he does not spare; he pours my bile on the ground. 1 Job does not mean that arrows have literally pierced his **kidneys** and liver. He is continuing the image of the archers to indicate that it feels to him as if God is mercilessly trying to kill him in a way that he could not possibly survive. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “It feels to me as if God is mercilessly trying to kill me in a way that I could not possibly survive”
16:14 lx7f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He breaches me, breach upon the face of breach 1 Job is speaking as if he were a defensive wall around a city and God was smashing openings or breaches in that wall. He means that the continual sufferings that he is experiencing are making him less and less able to be resilient. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He causes me continual sufferings that are making me less and less resilient”
16:14 j508 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom breach upon the face of breach 1 This expression could mean: (1) that God is smashing openings in many different places in this wall (which represents Job). Alternate translation, if you choose to represent the image in your translation: “smashing openings in many different places in my wall” (2) that after succeeding in smashing an opening in this wall, God smashes repeatedly in the same place to make that opening bigger. Alternate translation: “ever enlarging the opening in my wall”
16:14 r9md rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor he runs against me like a warrior 1 Job is speaking as if God were literally running against him the way a **warrior** would run to attack an enemy soldier. Job is answering Eliphaz with his own words. In [15:26](../15/26.md), Eliphaz used the same image to describe how wicked people oppose God. If you used the image or represented it as a comparison in your translation in that verse, you may wish to translate the corresponding image here in the same way. If you used plain language there, you could use similar language here. Alternate translation: “he opposes me very forcefully”
16:15 cnt2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor I have sewn sackcloth on my skin 1 Job is speaking as if he had literally **sewn** sackcloth onto his **skin**. He could mean: (1) that he is continually in mourning, as if he wore sackcloth (a sign of mourning) so frequently that it seemed to be **sewn** onto his skin. Alternate translation: “I am continually in mourning” (2) that he actually has been wearing sackcloth (although the narrative at the beginning of the book does not say so) and it has stuck to his skin because of his boils, as if it were sewn to his skin. Alternate translation: “The sackcloth I have been wearing in grief has stuck to my skin”
16:15 hil8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor I have thrust my horn into the dust 1 People in the biblical culture used the **horn** of an animal to represent strength and honor. When they did, they would speak of humans as if they had horns like animals. For example, [Psalm 112:9](../psa/112/09.md) says of the person who fears Yahweh, “His horn rises high in honor.” Job is using the image in the opposite way to say that he is suffering disgrace. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I am suffering great disgrace”
16:16 l1id rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy and on my eyelids {is} a dark shadow 1 Job is describing the fact that he has not been sleeping well, by association with the way that dark circles form around the eyes of someone who lacks sleep. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “and I have dark circles around my eyes from lack of sleep”
16:17 cs74 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche violence {is} not in my hands 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **hands**, to mean all of him in the potential act of committing **violence**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I have not committed any violence”
16:17 j509 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor {is} pure 1 Job is speaking as if his prayer were literally **pure**, that is, as if it were a physical substance that had nothing else mixed in. He means that when he prays, he means just what he says and he has no other motives other than sincerely speaking with God. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “is sincere”
16:18 xf2z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe Earth, do not conceal my blood 1 Job is speaking to something that he knows cannot hear him, the **Earth**. He is doing that to show in a strong way how he feels about what has been happening to him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “I hope that when I die, my blood will remain visible on the earth”
16:18 aj18 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor Earth, do not conceal my blood 1 Job is speaking as if he were literally going to be murdered and as if his **blood** were going to fall to the ground and soak into the earth unless something prevented that. He means that he is like the victim of a deadly crime in that he deserves justice but there is a risk that he will not receive it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I want to receive justice for what is happening to me”
16:18 bg2u rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe and may {there} not be a {hiding} place for my cry 1 It is likely that Job is continuing to address the **Earth** in this part of the verse. Once again he is doing that in order to show in a strong way how he feels about what has been happening to him. Job is speaking as if the earth could hear him and as if it could make sure that none of its locations would provide a **place** for anyone to hide Job’s **cry** so that it was not answered. The context makes clear that this is a cry for justice. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “and I hope that my cry for justice is answered and not hidden”
16:19 z7js rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit my witness {is} in the heavens, and my advocate {is} in the heights 1 See the discussion in the General Notes to this chapter to decide how to translate the terms **witness** and **advocate**, which both describe the same person, someone whom Job expects will intercede for him in heaven. Alternate translation: “the person who has taken my side is pleading my case to God in heaven”
16:20 b5wz rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural My intercessors {are} my friends 1 This could mean: (1) that Job has a single individual in mind here, the one he called his “witness” and “advocate” in the previous verse. While the terms **intercessors** and **friends** are plural, it seems Job could be using plural forms to indicate an indefinite individual. Your language may use plural forms in the same way. If not, you could express the meaning in another way. Alternate translation: “There is a certain intercessor who is my friend” (2) that Job is saying that by contrast with the way this “witness” and “advocate” will take his side, his friends have been scoffing at him. The word translated **intercessors** can also mean “scoffers” (although Job uses it again in [33:23](../33/23.md) to mean “intercessor”). Alternate translation: “My friends are scoffing at me”
16:20 v43g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche my eye weeps to God 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **eye**, to mean all of him in the act of weeping. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I am pleading tearfully to God for mercy”
16:21 izh8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person for a man 1 When he refers to a **man** in the first part of this verse, Job seems to be speaking about himself in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the first person. Alternate translation: “for me”
16:21 kk12 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis and a son of man for his neighbor 1 Job is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and a son of man argues for his neighbor”
16:21 j510 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-words-phrases and a son of man for his neighbor 1 In this instance, Job is using the word **and** to say that the phrase it introduces is just as true as the previous phrase. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “just as a son of man argues for his neighbor”
16:21 j511 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations and a son of man with his neighbor 1 Although the terms **son** and **man** are masculine, Job is using phrase **a son of man** in a generic sense to mean “a human being.” If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “just as one human being argues on behalf of another human being”
16:22 j512 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom years of number will come 1 Job is using the expression **years of number** to mean “a few years.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “a few years will go by”
16:22 z81v rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism and I will go {on} a path, I will not return 1 When Job says that he will **go** on a **path** and **not return**, he means that he will die. This is a mild way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “and I will pass away” or “and then I will die”
16:2 j497 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular כֻּלְּ⁠כֶֽם 1 As the context suggests, the word **you** is plural here because Job is using it to refer to his three friends. So use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:2 t7wj rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession מְנַחֲמֵ֖י עָמָ֣ל 1 Job is not using this possessive form not to say that his friends are providing comfort to **trouble**. He is using the form to say that in their attempts to be his **comforters**, they are causing him further trouble. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “troublesome counselors”
16:3 p7ga rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion הֲ⁠קֵ֥ץ לְ⁠דִבְרֵי־ר֑וּחַ א֥וֹ מַה־יַּ֝מְרִֽיצְ⁠ךָ֗ כִּ֣י תַעֲנֶֽה 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: “I wish that you would stop speaking these words of wind! I do not think anything compels you to answer.”
16:3 g4tp rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor לְ⁠דִבְרֵי־ר֑וּחַ 1 Job is answering Eliphaz with his own words. See how you translated the similar expression in [15:2](../15/02.md). Alternate translation: “to insubstantial words” or “to such bluster”
16:3 j498 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular תַעֲנֶֽה 1 The word **you** is singular here because Job is using it to refer only to Eliphaz, who has just spoken to him. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:4 j499 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche ל֤וּ־יֵ֪שׁ נַפְשְׁ⁠כֶ֡ם תַּ֤חַת נַפְשִׁ֗⁠י 1 Job is using one part of himself and his friends, their **souls**, to mean all of them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if you were in my place”
16:4 j500 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular כָּ⁠כֶ֪ם & נַפְשְׁ⁠כֶ֡ם & עֲלֵי⁠כֶ֣ם & עֲ֝לֵי⁠כֶ֗ם 1 The word **you** is plural in each of these instances because Job is using it to refer to his three friends. So use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:4 mg21 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy אַחְבִּ֣ירָה& בְּ⁠מִלִּ֑ים 1 Job is using the term **words** to mean the things that he would say by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I would say one thing after another”
16:4 bv7s rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction וְ⁠אָנִ֥יעָה עֲ֝לֵי⁠כֶ֗ם בְּמ֣וֹ רֹאשִֽׁ⁠י 1 To **shake** the **head** at someone is a symbolic action indicating disapproval. This action may have the same meaning in your culture. If not, your culture may have a comparable gesture that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “and I would point my finger at you”
16:5 j501 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-irony אֲאַמִּצְ⁠כֶ֥ם בְּמוֹ־פִ֑⁠י וְ⁠נִ֖יד שְׂפָתַ֣⁠י יַחְשֹֽׂךְ 1 For emphasis, Job is saying the opposite of what he means. He does not feel that his friends actually have been strengthening him or relieving him. If a speaker of your language would not say the opposite of what he means for emphasis, in your translation you could indicate what Job actually means. Alternate translation: “I would say things such as you have been saying, thinking that I was strengthening and comforting you, even though saying such things would actually make you feel worse, as you have been making me feel worse”
16:5 i21i rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular אֲאַמִּצְ⁠כֶ֥ם 1 The word **you** is plural here because Job is using it to refer to his three friends. So use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:5 dvh6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy בְּמוֹ־פִ֑⁠י וְ⁠נִ֖יד שְׂפָתַ֣⁠י 1 Job is using the terms **mouth** and **lips** by association to mean speaking. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “by what I said, and the things that I spoke”
16:6 vjz7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive לֹא־יֵחָשֵׂ֣ךְ כְּאֵבִ֑⁠י 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “that does not relieve my pain”
16:6 s8sf rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion מַה־מִ⁠נִּ֥י יַהֲלֹֽךְ 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “that does not make the pain go away”
16:7 t7qh rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns הֶלְאָ֑⁠נִי 1 The pronoun **he** most likely refers to God, since the following pronoun **you** seems clearly to address God. Job seems to be referring to God in the third person in order to make a transition from speaking to his friends, and he then seems to be addressing God directly in the second person. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “you, God, have exhausted me”
16:7 mrz6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular הֲ֝שִׁמּ֗וֹתָ 1 The word **you** is singular here because Job is using it to refer to God. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:8 pz4y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification וַֽ֭⁠תִּקְמְטֵ⁠נִי לְ⁠עֵ֣ד הָיָ֑ה וַ⁠יָּ֥קָם בִּ֥⁠י כַ֝חֲשִׁ֗⁠י בְּ⁠פָנַ֥⁠י יַעֲנֶֽה 1 Job is speaking as if his **shriveled** condition, his **leanness**, were a living thing that was serving as a **witness** and testifying against him. He means that people consider him to be guilty of sin because they believe that God is punishing him with a sickness that has made him lose weight. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and because you have afflicted me with a sickness that has made me emaciated, people consider that to be evidence that I have sinned”
16:8 z1f4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular וַֽ֭⁠תִּקְמְטֵ⁠נִי 1 The word **you** is singular here because Job is using it to refer to God. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
16:8 wiw6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche בְּ⁠פָנַ֥⁠י 1 Here the word **face** could mean: (1) Job himself, using one part of him to represent all of him. Alternate translation: “against me” (2) Job’s reputation as a righteous person, in a specific sense of the word **face**. Alternate translation: “against my good reputation”
16:9 a6fe rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor טָרַ֨ף ׀ וַֽ⁠יִּשְׂטְמֵ֗⁠נִי 1 Job is speaking as if God were literally a wild animal that had **attacked** and **torn** him. If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as a comparison. Alternate translation: “he has been like a wild animal tearing and attacking me”
16:9 crc6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-infostructure טָרַ֨ף ׀ וַֽ⁠יִּשְׂטְמֵ֗⁠נִי 1 Since a wild animal would attack its prey before tearing it, it might be more natural to reverse the order of these clauses. Alternate translation: “he has attacked me and he has torn me”
16:9 j503 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction חָרַ֣ק עָלַ֣⁠י בְּ⁠שִׁנָּ֑י⁠ו 1 This action expresses strong anger. If there is a similar gesture in your culture, you could consider using it here in your translation. You could also indicate the meaning of this gesture. Alternate translation: “he is so angry at me that he grinds his teeth together”
16:9 c555 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יִלְט֖וֹשׁ עֵינָ֣י⁠ו לִֽ⁠י 1 Job is speaking as if God, whom he believes is acting towards him as an **enemy**, were literally sharpening his **eyes**, the way one would sharpen a sword in order to use it dangerously as a weapon. He means that God is focusing his eyes intently on him to recognize ways to attack him further and to ensure that he does not escape. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “focuses his eyes intently on me”
16:10 i21w rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction פָּעֲר֬וּ עָלַ֨⁠י ׀ בְּ⁠פִי⁠הֶ֗ם 1 Opening the mouth wide at someone was a symbolic action that expressed ridicule. If there is a similar gesture in your culture, you could consider using it here in your translation. You could also indicate the meaning of this gesture. Alternate translation: “They open their mouths wide at me in order to ridicule me”
16:10 j504 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-collectivenouns בְּ⁠פִי⁠הֶ֗ם 1 Since Job is speaking of many people, it may be more natural in your language to use the plural form of **mouth**. Alternate translation: “with their mouths”
16:11 mm84 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy יְדֵ֖י 1 Here, **hands** represents the power and control that people have over something. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the power of”
16:11 j505 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj רְשָׁעִ֣ים 1 Job is using the adjective **wicked** as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
16:11 zm7g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יִרְטֵֽ⁠נִי 1 Job is speaking as if God were literally throwing him **into the hands of the wicked**. He means that God is abandoning him to whatever it is that wicked people would want to do to him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he abandons me”
16:12 t8kc rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וַֽ⁠יְפַרְפְּרֵ֗⁠נִי וְ⁠אָחַ֣ז בְּ֭⁠עָרְפִּ⁠י וַֽ⁠יְפַצְפְּצֵ֑⁠נִי 1 Job is speaking as if God has literally **shattered** him, breaking him into many parts, and **seized** his neck and **shaken** him **to pieces**. He means that God has destroyed everything important in his life—his possessions, his family, and his health. If it would be clearer in your language, you could express this as a comparison, as the UST does, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but he has destroyed my possessions, my family, and my health”
16:12 nt7z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וַ⁠יְקִימֵ֥⁠נִי ל֝֗⁠וֹ לְ⁠מַטָּרָֽה 1 Job is speaking as if God has literally **set** him **up as a target**. (He continues this image in the first line of the next verse.) He means that it seems as if God has harmed him very intentionally. If it would be clearer in your language, you could express this as a comparison, as the UST does, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Yes, it seems as if he has harmed me very intentionally”
16:13 kx4d rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יָ֘סֹ֤בּוּ עָלַ֨⁠י ׀ רַבָּ֗י⁠ו 1 Job is speaking as if **archers** whom God commands have literally **surrounded** him. He means that God has caused him to experience many different troubles. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly, as long as you also used plain language in the last sentence of the previous verse. Alternate translation: “he has caused me to experience many troubles”
16:13 j507 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit יְפַלַּ֣ח כִּ֭לְיוֹתַ⁠י וְ⁠לֹ֣א יַחְמ֑וֹל יִשְׁפֹּ֥ךְ לָ֝⁠אָ֗רֶץ מְרֵרָֽתִ⁠י 1 Job means implicitly that these archers are seeking mercilessly to kill him by shooting their arrows into his vital organs. (By saying that God **pours** his **bile** on the **ground**, Job means that God’s archers have pierced his liver as well as his **kidneys**, since the liver produces bile and that fluid would spill out of the body if the liver were pierced.) You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “They are seeking mercilessly to kill me by shooting their arrows into my vital organs”
16:13 e7bp rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יְפַלַּ֣ח כִּ֭לְיוֹתַ⁠י וְ⁠לֹ֣א יַחְמ֑וֹל יִשְׁפֹּ֥ךְ לָ֝⁠אָ֗רֶץ מְרֵרָֽתִ⁠י 1 Job does not mean that arrows have literally pierced his **kidneys** and liver. He is continuing the image of the archers to indicate that it feels to him as if God is mercilessly trying to kill him in a way that he could not possibly survive. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “It feels to me as if God is mercilessly trying to kill me in a way that I could not possibly survive”
16:13 j506 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns יְפַלַּ֣ח & וְ⁠לֹ֣א יַחְמ֑וֹל & יִשְׁפֹּ֥ךְ 1 The pronouns **He** and **he** refer to God. Job means that God is doing these things through the symbolic **archers** that he describes in the previous sentence. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use plural pronouns to show that this is a continuation of the image of the archers. Alternate translation: “They pierce my kidneys and do not spare; they pour my bile on the ground”
16:14 lx7f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יִפְרְצֵ֣⁠נִי פֶ֭רֶץ עַל־פְּנֵי־פָ֑רֶץ 1 Job is speaking as if he were a defensive wall around a city and God was smashing openings or breaches in that wall. He means that the continual sufferings that he is experiencing are making him less and less able to be resilient. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He causes me continual sufferings that are making me less and less resilient”
16:14 j508 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom פֶ֭רֶץ עַל־פְּנֵי־פָ֑רֶץ 1 This expression could mean: (1) that God is smashing openings in many different places in this wall (which represents Job). Alternate translation, if you choose to represent the image in your translation: “smashing openings in many different places in my wall” (2) that after succeeding in smashing an opening in this wall, God smashes repeatedly in the same place to make that opening bigger. Alternate translation: “ever enlarging the opening in my wall”
16:14 r9md rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יָרֻ֖ץ עָלַ֣⁠י כְּ⁠גִבּֽוֹר 1 Job is speaking as if God were literally running against him the way a **warrior** would run to attack an enemy soldier. Job is answering Eliphaz with his own words. In [15:26](../15/26.md), Eliphaz used the same image to describe how wicked people oppose God. If you used the image or represented it as a comparison in your translation in that verse, you may wish to translate the corresponding image here in the same way. If you used plain language there, you could use similar language here. Alternate translation: “he opposes me very forcefully”
16:15 cnt2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor שַׂ֣ק תָּ֭פַרְתִּי עֲלֵ֣י גִלְדִּ֑⁠י 1 Job is speaking as if he had literally **sewn** sackcloth onto his **skin**. He could mean: (1) that he is continually in mourning, as if he wore sackcloth (a sign of mourning) so frequently that it seemed to be **sewn** onto his skin. Alternate translation: “I am continually in mourning” (2) that he actually has been wearing sackcloth (although the narrative at the beginning of the book does not say so) and it has stuck to his skin because of his boils, as if it were sewn to his skin. Alternate translation: “The sackcloth I have been wearing in grief has stuck to my skin”
16:15 hil8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ⁠עֹלַ֖לְתִּי בֶ⁠עָפָ֣ר קַרְנִֽ⁠י 1 People in the biblical culture used the **horn** of an animal to represent strength and honor. When they did, they would speak of humans as if they had horns like animals. For example, [Psalm 112:9](../psa/112/09.md) says of the person who fears Yahweh, “His horn rises high in honor.” Job is using the image in the opposite way to say that he is suffering disgrace. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and I am suffering great disgrace”
16:16 l1id rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy וְ⁠עַ֖ל עַפְעַפַּ֣⁠י צַלְמָֽוֶת 1 Job is describing the fact that he has not been sleeping well, by association with the way that dark circles form around the eyes of someone who lacks sleep. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “and I have dark circles around my eyes from lack of sleep”
16:17 cs74 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche לֹא־חָמָ֣ס בְּ⁠כַפָּ֑⁠י 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **hands**, to mean all of him in the potential act of committing **violence**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I have not committed any violence”
16:17 j509 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor זַכָּֽה 1 Job is speaking as if his prayer were literally **pure**, that is, as if it were a physical substance that had nothing else mixed in. He means that when he prays, he means just what he says and he has no other motives other than sincerely speaking with God. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “is sincere”
16:18 xf2z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe אֶ֭רֶץ אַל־תְּכַסִּ֣י דָמִ֑⁠י 1 Job is speaking to something that he knows cannot hear him, the **Earth**. He is doing that to show in a strong way how he feels about what has been happening to him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “I hope that when I die, my blood will remain visible on the earth”
16:18 aj18 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor אֶ֭רֶץ אַל־תְּכַסִּ֣י דָמִ֑⁠י 1 Job is speaking as if he were literally going to be murdered and as if his **blood** were going to fall to the ground and soak into the earth unless something prevented that. He means that he is like the victim of a deadly crime in that he deserves justice but there is a risk that he will not receive it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I want to receive justice for what is happening to me”
16:18 bg2u rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe וְֽ⁠אַל־יְהִ֥י מָ֝ק֗וֹם לְ⁠זַעֲקָתִֽ⁠י 1 It is likely that Job is continuing to address the **Earth** in this part of the verse. Once again he is doing that in order to show in a strong way how he feels about what has been happening to him. Job is speaking as if the earth could hear him and as if it could make sure that none of its locations would provide a **place** for anyone to hide Job’s **cry** so that it was not answered. The context makes clear that this is a cry for justice. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “and I hope that my cry for justice is answered and not hidden”
16:19 z7js rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit בַ⁠שָּׁמַ֣יִם עֵדִ֑⁠י וְ֝⁠שָׂהֲדִ֗⁠י בַּ⁠מְּרוֹמִֽים 1 See the discussion in the General Notes to this chapter to decide how to translate the terms **witness** and **advocate**, which both describe the same person, someone whom Job expects will intercede for him in heaven. Alternate translation: “the person who has taken my side is pleading my case to God in heaven”
16:20 b5wz rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural מְלִיצַ֥⁠י רֵעָ֑⁠י 1 This could mean: (1) that Job has a single individual in mind here, the one he called his “witness” and “advocate” in the previous verse. While the terms **intercessors** and **friends** are plural, it seems Job could be using plural forms to indicate an indefinite individual. Your language may use plural forms in the same way. If not, you could express the meaning in another way. Alternate translation: “There is a certain intercessor who is my friend” (2) that Job is saying that by contrast with the way this “witness” and “advocate” will take his side, his friends have been scoffing at him. The word translated **intercessors** can also mean “scoffers” (although Job uses it again in [33:23](../33/23.md) to mean “intercessor”). Alternate translation: “My friends are scoffing at me”
16:20 v43g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche אֶל־אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַ דָּלְפָ֥ה עֵינִֽ⁠י 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **eye**, to mean all of him in the act of weeping. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I am pleading tearfully to God for mercy”
16:21 izh8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person לְ⁠גֶ֣בֶר 1 When he refers to a **man** in the first part of this verse, Job seems to be speaking about himself in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the first person. Alternate translation: “for me”
16:21 kk12 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis וּֽ⁠בֶן־אָדָ֥ם לְ⁠רֵעֵֽ⁠הוּ 1 Job is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and a son of man argues for his neighbor”
16:21 j510 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-words-phrases וּֽ⁠בֶן־אָדָ֥ם לְ⁠רֵעֵֽ⁠הוּ 1 In this instance, Job is using the word **and** to say that the phrase it introduces is just as true as the previous phrase. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “just as a son of man argues for his neighbor”
16:21 j511 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations וּֽ⁠בֶן־אָדָ֥ם לְ⁠רֵעֵֽ⁠הוּ 1 Although the terms **son** and **man** are masculine, Job is using phrase **a son of man** in a generic sense to mean “a human being.” If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “just as one human being argues on behalf of another human being”
16:22 j512 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom שְׁנ֣וֹת מִסְפָּ֣ר יֶאֱתָ֑יוּ 1 Job is using the expression **years of number** to mean “a few years.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “a few years will go by”
16:22 z81v rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism וְ⁠אֹ֖רַח לֹא־אָשׁ֣וּב אֶהֱלֹֽךְ 1 When Job says that he will **go** on a **path** and **not return**, he means that he will die. This is a mild way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “and I will pass away” or “and then I will die”
17:intro rs6g 0 # Job 17 General Notes\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\nThis chapter is the conclusion of Job’s response to Eliphaz’s second speech. Job expresses his disappointment with his friends’ advice, he asks Yahweh to help him, and he wishes that he had good things to hope for.\n\nThe ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is poetry.
17:1 j513 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole My spirit is destroyed, my days are extinguished 1 Job is making an overstatement when he says that his **spirit** has already been **destroyed** and his **days** have already been **extinguished**. He means that this is nearly the case. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “My spirit is nearly destroyed, my days are nearly extinguished”
17:1 j514 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive My spirit is destroyed, my days are extinguished 1 If your language does not use these passive forms, you could express the ideas in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “My troubles have nearly destroyed my spirit and extinguished my days”
17:1 c8r6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche My spirit 1 This could mean: (1) Job’s life. Job would be using one part of himself, his **spirit**, to mean all of him. Alternate translation: “My life” (2) Job’s strength and morale. Alternate translation: “My strength” or “My morale”
17:1 yjx4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom my days are extinguished 1 Job is using the term **days** to mean a specific period of time, his lifetime. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “my life is extinguished”
17:1 j515 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor my days are extinguished 1 Job is speaking as if his life were literally a flame that something had **extinguished** or snuffed out. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “my life is almost over”
17:1 j516 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural graves {are} for me 1 While the term **graves** is plural, it seems unlikely that Job means he will be buried in more than one grave. (1) Job could be using the plural form to indicate an indefinite thing. Your language may use plural forms in the same way. If not, you could express the meaning in another way. Alternate translation: “there is a grave ready for me somewhere” (2) Job could be speaking of a graveyard or cemetery by association with the way that such a place contains many **graves**. Alternate translation: “the graveyard is ready for me”
17:1 awv1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism graves {are} for me 1 Job is saying that **graves** are ready for him to mean that he will die soon. This is a mild way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “soon I will die”
17:2 jf81 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom If {there are} not mockers with me? 1 Job is using the word **If** to introduce a question that anticipates a negative answer. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “There are mockers with me, are there not?”
17:2 z26q rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion If {there are} not mockers with me? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “Surely there are mockers with me!”
17:2 j517 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person If {there are} not mockers with me? 1 By **mockers**, Job most likely means his friends. He would be speaking of them in the third person even though they are present. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “All three of you have been mocking me!”
17:2 wp1h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche And on their provocations my eye lingers 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **eye**, to mean all of him in the act of seeing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation, using the second person: “Yes, all I can see is your provocations”
17:2 wr6q rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns And on their provocations my eye lingers 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **provocations**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “Yes, all I can see is you provoking me”
17:2 j518 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit And on their provocations my eye lingers 1 The implication is that Job’s friends have only been provoking him, not comforting him, because otherwise he would be able to recognize their comfort. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “You have only been provoking me, not comforting me”
17:3 j519 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular Please set down, be surety for me with you 1 The word **you** and the implied “you” in the imperative **set** and in the imperative **be surety for** are singular because they refer to God. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
17:3 fwk5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor Please set down, be surety for me with you. 1 Job is speaking as if God would literally **set down**, that is, surrender to a court, something of value in order to guarantee Job’s appearance in court and good conduct. Job is similarly speaking as if God would literally **be surety** for him, that is, personally guarantee his appearance and conduct. Job speaks this way even though he says at the same time that God himself would be trying his case (that is the meaning of **with you**). Your culture may have a similar custom that you could use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “Please put up a bond for me even as you try my case”
17:3 l8dv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Who {is} he {who} will strike himself to my hand? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “No one else will strike himself to my hand”
17:3 j520 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction Who {is} he {who} will strike himself to my hand? 1 Job is speaking of one person striking his hand against a second person’s hand as a symbolic action in order to show that he was committing himself to serve as a guarantor for that second person. Your culture may have a similar practice that you can use in your translation, and you can also explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “No one else will shake hands with me to pledge that he will be my guarantor”
17:4 j521 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-words-phrases For 1 Job is using the word **For** to explain the reason why he said in the previous verse that he believed no one else would be a guarantor for him. Alternate translation: “My friends will not be my guarantors because”
17:4 fbr7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor you have covered their hearts from understanding 1 Job is speaking as if God had literally **hidden** the **hearts** of his friends somewhere where their hearts would not come in contact with **understanding**. Within the context of this image, Job is using the heart to represent the mind. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “for you have kept their minds from understanding”
17:4 y4ne rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit you will not exalt {them} 1 Job means implicitly that since God has kept his friends from understanding that he is innocent, God will not **exalt** or honor his friends by giving a guilty verdict against him, thereby vindicating what the friends have been saying. That would be allowing error to triumph. You could indicate that explicitly in your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “you will not vindicate what they have been erroneously saying by giving a guilty verdict against me”
17:5 kb8z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche He {who} denounces friends for a reward, even the eyes of his sons will fail. 1 Job is using one thing that God does to maintain justice, punish those who commit perjury for a bribe, to represent all that God does to maintain justice. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “After all, you maintain justice by punishing people who corrupt court proceedings”
17:5 i5ps rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism even the eyes of his sons will fail 1 Job is speaking of how the **eyes** of people who are dying **fail** (no longer see) in order describe those people dying. This is a poetic way of speaking about death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “his sons will certainly die”
17:5 j522 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations his sons 1 Although the term **sons** is masculine, Job is using the word in a generic sense that includes both sons and daughters. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “his children”
17:6 j523 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns But he has made me 1 The pronoun **he** refers to God. After briefly speaking directly to God in verses 3 and 4, Job now speaks of God once again in the third person. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “But God has made me”
17:6 kzr9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit a saying of the peoples 1 Job is using the word **saying** to mean that the **peoples** are citing him by name as an outstanding example of someone who seemed to be prospering because he was righteous but who came to ruin because he was actually wicked. Your language may have an expression for this practice of citing people by name as examples that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “a byword for the peoples”
17:6 me7l rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction and I have become a spitting in the face 1 People were **spitting** in Job’s **face** as a symbolic action to show their contempt for him as a wicked person, which he appeared to them to be. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “and people have even been spitting in my face to show their contempt for me because they think I am a wicked person”
17:7 a9ip rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy and my eye is dim from sorrow 1 Job is using the term **eye** by association to mean sight. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “because of my sorrow, I can only see dimly”
17:7 my86 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile {are} like a shadow 1 The point of this comparison is that just as a **shadow** is insubstantial, so Job’s **members**, that is, the parts of his body, have become very thin. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “have become as thin as a shadow”
17:8 g1f9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj The upright & and the innocent & the godless 1 Job is using the adjectives **upright**, **innocent**, and **godless** as nouns to mean certain kinds of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate these words with equivalent phrases. Alternate translation: “Upright people … and innocent people … godless people”
17:9 j524 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj And the righteous & and the clean of hands 1 Job is using the adjectives **righteous** and **clean** as nouns to mean certain kinds of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate these words with equivalent phrases. Alternate translation: “And righteous people & and people whose hands are clean”
17:9 r9ay rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor will hold his way 1 Job is speaking of how God wants a person to live, or of the future that God has planned for a person, as if that were a **way** or path that God wants the person to walk along. When Job says that the **righteous** will **hold** his way, he means that that person will continue to walk along that path. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will continue to live as God desires”
17:9 lqi9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and the clean of hands 1 Job is speaking as if people who are innocent of wrongdoing have **hands** that are literally **clean**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and innocent people”
17:9 lx6m rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom will add strength 1 When Job says that innocent people **will add strength**, he means by this expression that they will continually grow stronger. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will grow stronger and stronger”
17:10 e43i rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person all of them 1 Job is speaking about his friends in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “all of you”
17:10 e7nv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hendiadys may you return, and come 1 This phrase may be expressing a single idea by using two words connected with **and**. The word **return** tells in what way Job wants his friends to **come**. He wants them to try speaking with him “again.” If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this meaning with an equivalent phrase that does not use “and.” Alternate translation: “come again”
17:10 j525 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj a wise {person} among you 1 Job is using the adjective **wise** as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. The ULT indicates this by adding the word **person**. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “anyone among you who is wise”
17:11 nba8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom My days have passed 1 Job is using the term **days** to refer to a specific time, his lifetime. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “My life is almost over”
17:11 j526 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive my plans are broken 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “I will not be able to fulfill my plans”
17:11 f9nn rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification the desires of my heart 1 Job is speaking of his **heart** as if it were a living thing that could have **desires**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the things that I deeply desired”
17:12 m8i8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor They change night into day 1 Job is speaking about troubled times in life as if they were literally **night** and happy, prosperous times in life as if they were literally **day**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “They claim that what is happening to me is actually good”
17:12 m4j6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns They change 1 The pronoun **They** refers to Job’s friends. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “My friends change”
17:12 j527 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person They change 1 Job is speaking about his friends in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “You, my friends, change” or “You change”
17:12 j528 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotations Light is near from the face of darkness 1 Many interpreters believe that in this sentence, Job is summarizing what his friends have been telling him. You may wish to represent the sentence in your translation as a direct quotation. Alternate translation: “You say, ‘Light is near from the face of darkness’”
17:12 fif1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy Light is near from the face of darkness 1 Here the word **face** represents the presence of something, by association with the way that people can see the face of a person who is present. Alternate translation: “Light is near from the presence of darkness”
17:12 j529 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-proverbs Light is near from the face of darkness 1 Job may be using a proverb, a short, popular saying about something that is generally true in life, to summarize what his friends have been telling him. Or his friends may have been quoting this proverb themselves in their advice to Job. Your language may have a similar saying that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “It’s always darkest before the dawn”
17:13 j530 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy in the darkness 1 Job is using the term **darkness** to mean the realm of the dead, Sheol, by association with the way that it is dark there. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “in the realm of the dead”
17:13 h88c rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche {if} in the darkness I have spread out my bed 1 Job is using the single activity of preparing a **bed** on which to sleep to mean all that is involved in making a place one’s home. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if I have made my home in the realm of the dead”
17:14 j531 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes {if} I call to the pit, ‘You {are} my father,’ 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “if I tell the pit that it is my father” or “if I call the pit my father”
17:14 uwb3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy {if} I call to the pit, ‘You {are} my father,’ 1 If Job said this, he would be saying that **the pit** was his home, by association with the way that a person lives in the home of his **father**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if I call to the pit, ‘You {are} my home’”
17:14 j532 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe {if} I call to the pit, ‘You {are} my father,’ 1 If Job did speak this way to **the pit**, that is, to the realm of the dead, he would be speaking to something that he knew could not hear and understand him in order to make an emphatic statement. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “if I said that the pit was certainly going to be my home”
17:14 j533 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’ 1 Job is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “or if I call to the worm and say, ‘You are my mother,’ or, ‘You are my sister’”
17:14 e6lb rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’ 1 If Job said this to a **worm**, such as would be found in a grave, he would be saying that the grave was going to be his home, by association with the way that a person shares a home with his **mother** and **sister**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “or if I call to the worm, ‘I am going to share the grave with you’” or “or if I call to the worm, ‘I am going to be in a grave, just as you are’”
17:14 j534 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’ 1 If Job did speak this way to a **worm**, he would be speaking to something that he knew could not hear and understand him in order to make an emphatic statement. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “if I said that I was certainly going to be in a grave”
17:14 j535 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun to the worm 1 Job is not referring to a specific **worm**. He means any worm. Express this in the way that would be most natural in your language. Alternate translation: “to a worm”
17:14 nrr3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown to the worm 1 A **worm** is a small creature that burrows through the ground, passing the soil through its digestive system in order to extract the nutrients that it contains. Worms also pass whatever else they find underground through their digestive systems, including dead bodies. If your readers would not be familiar with what a worm is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable creature in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “to a small burrowing creature”
17:15 zb7d rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion where then {would be} my hope? And my hope, who would see it? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “then I would not have any real hope! No, I would not have any hope that anyone could see!”
17:15 j536 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns where then {would be} my hope? And my hope, who would see it? 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **hope**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “then I would not really have anything to hope for! No, I would not have anything to hope for that anyone could see!”
17:16 h77p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Will they descend to the bars of Sheol? If {our} rest {will be} together in the dust?” 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: “Then they would descend to the bars of Sheol! Then our rest would be together in the dust!”
17:16 j537 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural Will they descend 1 The pronoun **they** refers to the hope that Job described in the previous verse. Job may be using a plural term to speak of the hope that he said would not be and the hope that he said no one would see, even though this is basically the same hope. If it would be more natural in your language, you could use a singular pronoun in your translation. Alternate translation: “Will it descend” or, as a statement, “Then it would descend”
17:16 yx83 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy to the bars of Sheol 1 Job is using the term **bars** to mean “gates,” by association with the way that bars keep a gate locked. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to the gates of Sheol”
17:16 j538 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit to the bars of Sheol 1 Job means implicitly that if his hope went down to the **bars** or gates of Sheol, it would be admitted there. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “to Sheol and be admitted there”
17:16 z16e rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism If {our} rest {will be} together in the dust 1 Job is speaking of having **rest** in the **dust** to mean “die.” This is a poetic way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “Will we die together” or “Will my hope die with me”
17:16 ajw5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification If {our} rest {will be} together in the dust 1 Job is speaking of his hope as if it were a living thing that could have **rest**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Do I have nothing more to hope for in this life”
17:1 j513 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole רוּחִ֣⁠י חֻ֭בָּלָה יָמַ֥⁠י נִזְעָ֗כוּ 1 Job is making an overstatement when he says that his **spirit** has already been **destroyed** and his **days** have already been **extinguished**. He means that this is nearly the case. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “My spirit is nearly destroyed, my days are nearly extinguished”
17:1 j514 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive רוּחִ֣⁠י חֻ֭בָּלָה יָמַ֥⁠י נִזְעָ֗כוּ 1 If your language does not use these passive forms, you could express the ideas in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “My troubles have nearly destroyed my spirit and extinguished my days”
17:1 c8r6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche רוּחִ֣⁠י 1 This could mean: (1) Job’s life. Job would be using one part of himself, his **spirit**, to mean all of him. Alternate translation: “My life” (2) Job’s strength and morale. Alternate translation: “My strength” or “My morale”
17:1 yjx4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom יָמַ֥⁠י נִזְעָ֗כוּ 1 Job is using the term **days** to mean a specific period of time, his lifetime. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “my life is extinguished”
17:1 j515 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יָמַ֥⁠י נִזְעָ֗כוּ 1 Job is speaking as if his life were literally a flame that something had **extinguished** or snuffed out. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “my life is almost over”
17:1 j516 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural קְבָרִ֥ים לִֽ⁠י 1 While the term **graves** is plural, it seems unlikely that Job means he will be buried in more than one grave. (1) Job could be using the plural form to indicate an indefinite thing. Your language may use plural forms in the same way. If not, you could express the meaning in another way. Alternate translation: “there is a grave ready for me somewhere” (2) Job could be speaking of a graveyard or cemetery by association with the way that such a place contains many **graves**. Alternate translation: “the graveyard is ready for me”
17:1 awv1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism קְבָרִ֥ים לִֽ⁠י 1 Job is saying that **graves** are ready for him to mean that he will die soon. This is a mild way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “soon I will die”
17:2 jf81 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom אִם־לֹ֣א הֲ֭תֻלִים עִמָּדִ֑⁠י 1 Job is using the word **If** to introduce a question that anticipates a negative answer. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “There are mockers with me, are there not?”
17:2 z26q rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion אִם־לֹ֣א הֲ֭תֻלִים עִמָּדִ֑⁠י 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “Surely there are mockers with me!”
17:2 j517 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person אִם־לֹ֣א הֲ֭תֻלִים עִמָּדִ֑⁠י 1 By **mockers**, Job most likely means his friends. He would be speaking of them in the third person even though they are present. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “All three of you have been mocking me!”
17:2 wp1h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche וּ֝⁠בְ⁠הַמְּרוֹתָ֗⁠ם תָּלַ֥ן עֵינִֽ⁠י 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **eye**, to mean all of him in the act of seeing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation, using the second person: “Yes, all I can see is your provocations”
17:2 wr6q rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns וּ֝⁠בְ⁠הַמְּרוֹתָ֗⁠ם תָּלַ֥ן עֵינִֽ⁠י 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **provocations**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “Yes, all I can see is you provoking me”
17:2 j518 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit וּ֝⁠בְ⁠הַמְּרוֹתָ֗⁠ם תָּלַ֥ן עֵינִֽ⁠י 1 The implication is that Job’s friends have only been provoking him, not comforting him, because otherwise he would be able to recognize their comfort. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “You have only been provoking me, not comforting me”
17:3 j519 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular שִֽׂימָ⁠ה־נָּ֭א עָרְבֵ֣⁠נִי עִמָּ֑⁠ךְ 1 The word **you** and the implied “you” in the imperative **set** and in the imperative **be surety for** are singular because they refer to God. So use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
17:3 fwk5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor שִֽׂימָ⁠ה־נָּ֭א עָרְבֵ֣⁠נִי עִמָּ֑⁠ךְ 1 Job is speaking as if God would literally **set down**, that is, surrender to a court, something of value in order to guarantee Job’s appearance in court and good conduct. Job is similarly speaking as if God would literally **be surety** for him, that is, personally guarantee his appearance and conduct. Job speaks this way even though he says at the same time that God himself would be trying his case (that is the meaning of **with you**). Your culture may have a similar custom that you could use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “Please put up a bond for me even as you try my case”
17:3 l8dv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion מִֽי ה֝֗וּא לְ⁠יָדִ֥⁠י יִתָּקֵֽעַ 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “No one else will strike himself to my hand”
17:3 j520 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction מִֽי ה֝֗וּא לְ⁠יָדִ֥⁠י יִתָּקֵֽעַ 1 Job is speaking of one person striking his hand against a second person’s hand as a symbolic action in order to show that he was committing himself to serve as a guarantor for that second person. Your culture may have a similar practice that you can use in your translation, and you can also explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “No one else will shake hands with me to pledge that he will be my guarantor”
17:4 j521 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-words-phrases כִּֽי 1 Job is using the word **For** to explain the reason why he said in the previous verse that he believed no one else would be a guarantor for him. Alternate translation: “My friends will not be my guarantors because”
17:4 fbr7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor לִ֭בָּ⁠ם צָפַ֣נְתָּ מִּ⁠שָּׂ֑כֶל 1 Job is speaking as if God had literally **hidden** the **hearts** of his friends somewhere where their hearts would not come in contact with **understanding**. Within the context of this image, Job is using the heart to represent the mind. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “for you have kept their minds from understanding”
17:4 y4ne rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit לֹ֣א תְרֹמֵֽם 1 Job means implicitly that since God has kept his friends from understanding that he is innocent, God will not **exalt** or honor his friends by giving a guilty verdict against him, thereby vindicating what the friends have been saying. That would be allowing error to triumph. You could indicate that explicitly in your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “you will not vindicate what they have been erroneously saying by giving a guilty verdict against me”
17:5 kb8z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche לְ֭⁠חֵלֶק יַגִּ֣יד רֵעִ֑ים וְ⁠עֵינֵ֖י בָנָ֣י⁠ו תִּכְלֶֽנָה 1 Job is using one thing that God does to maintain justice, punish those who commit perjury for a bribe, to represent all that God does to maintain justice. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “After all, you maintain justice by punishing people who corrupt court proceedings”
17:5 i5ps rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism וְ⁠עֵינֵ֖י בָנָ֣י⁠ו תִּכְלֶֽנָה 1 Job is speaking of how the **eyes** of people who are dying **fail** (no longer see) in order describe those people dying. This is a poetic way of speaking about death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “his sons will certainly die”
17:5 j522 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations בָנָ֣י⁠ו 1 Although the term **sons** is masculine, Job is using the word in a generic sense that includes both sons and daughters. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “his children”
17:6 j523 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns וְֽ֭⁠הִצִּגַ⁠נִי 1 The pronoun **he** refers to God. After briefly speaking directly to God in verses 3 and 4, Job now speaks of God once again in the third person. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “But God has made me”
17:6 kzr9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit לִ⁠מְשֹׁ֣ל עַמִּ֑ים 1 Job is using the word **saying** to mean that the **peoples** are citing him by name as an outstanding example of someone who seemed to be prospering because he was righteous but who came to ruin because he was actually wicked. Your language may have an expression for this practice of citing people by name as examples that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “a byword for the peoples”
17:6 me7l rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction וְ⁠תֹ֖פֶת לְ⁠פָנִ֣ים אֶֽהְיֶֽה 1 People were **spitting** in Job’s **face** as a symbolic action to show their contempt for him as a wicked person, which he appeared to them to be. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “and people have even been spitting in my face to show their contempt for me because they think I am a wicked person”
17:7 a9ip rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy וַ⁠תֵּ֣כַהּ מִ⁠כַּ֣עַשׂ עֵינִ֑⁠י 1 Job is using the term **eye** by association to mean sight. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “because of my sorrow, I can only see dimly”
17:7 my86 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile כַּ⁠צֵּ֣ל 1 The point of this comparison is that just as a **shadow** is insubstantial, so Job’s **members**, that is, the parts of his body, have become very thin. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “have become as thin as a shadow”
17:8 g1f9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj יְשָׁרִ֣ים & וְ֝⁠נָקִ֗י & חָנֵ֥ף 1 Job is using the adjectives **upright**, **innocent**, and **godless** as nouns to mean certain kinds of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate these words with equivalent phrases. Alternate translation: “Upright people … and innocent people … godless people”
17:9 j524 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj צַדִּ֣יק & וּֽ⁠טֳהָר־יָ֝דַ֗יִם 1 Job is using the adjectives **righteous** and **clean** as nouns to mean certain kinds of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate these words with equivalent phrases. Alternate translation: “righteous people & and people whose hands are clean”
17:9 r9ay rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ⁠יֹאחֵ֣ז & דַּרְכּ֑⁠וֹ 1 Job is speaking of how God wants a person to live, or of the future that God has planned for a person, as if that were a **way** or path that God wants the person to walk along. When Job says that the **righteous** will **hold** his way, he means that that person will continue to walk along that path. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “And … will continue to live as God desires”
17:9 lqi9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וּֽ⁠טֳהָר־יָ֝דַ֗יִם 1 Job is speaking as if people who are innocent of wrongdoing have **hands** that are literally **clean**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and innocent people”
17:9 lx6m rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom יֹסִ֥יף אֹֽמֶץ 1 When Job says that innocent people **will add strength**, he means by this expression that they will continually grow stronger. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will grow stronger and stronger”
17:10 e43i rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person כֻּלָּ֣⁠ם 1 Job is speaking about his friends in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “all of you”
17:10 e7nv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hendiadys תָּ֭שֻׁבוּ וּ⁠בֹ֣אוּ 1 This phrase may be expressing a single idea by using two words connected with **and**. The word **return** tells in what way Job wants his friends to **come**. He wants them to try speaking with him “again.” If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this meaning with an equivalent phrase that does not use “and.” Alternate translation: “come again”
17:10 j525 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj בָ⁠כֶ֣ם חָכָֽם 1 Job is using the adjective **wise** as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. The ULT indicates this by adding the word **person**. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “anyone among you who is wise”
17:11 nba8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom יָמַ֣⁠י עָ֭בְרוּ 1 Job is using the term **days** to refer to a specific time, his lifetime. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “My life is almost over”
17:11 j526 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive זִמֹּתַ֣⁠י נִתְּק֑וּ 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “I will not be able to fulfill my plans”
17:11 f9nn rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification מ֖וֹרָשֵׁ֣י לְבָבִֽ⁠י 1 Job is speaking of his **heart** as if it were a living thing that could have **desires**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the things that I deeply desired”
17:12 m8i8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor לַ֭יְלָה לְ⁠י֣וֹם יָשִׂ֑ימוּ 1 Job is speaking about troubled times in life as if they were literally **night** and happy, prosperous times in life as if they were literally **day**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “They claim that what is happening to me is actually good”
17:12 m4j6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns יָשִׂ֑ימוּ 1 The pronoun **They** refers to Job’s friends. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “My friends change”
17:12 j527 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person יָשִׂ֑ימוּ 1 Job is speaking about his friends in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “You, my friends, change” or “You change”
17:12 j528 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotations א֝֗וֹר קָר֥וֹב מִ⁠פְּנֵי־חֹֽשֶׁךְ 1 Many interpreters believe that in this sentence, Job is summarizing what his friends have been telling him. You may wish to represent the sentence in your translation as a direct quotation. Alternate translation: “You say, ‘Light is near from the face of darkness’”
17:12 fif1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy א֝֗וֹר קָר֥וֹב מִ⁠פְּנֵי־חֹֽשֶׁךְ 1 Here the word **face** represents the presence of something, by association with the way that people can see the face of a person who is present. Alternate translation: “Light is near from the presence of darkness”
17:12 j529 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-proverbs א֝֗וֹר קָר֥וֹב מִ⁠פְּנֵי־חֹֽשֶׁךְ 1 Job may be using a proverb, a short, popular saying about something that is generally true in life, to summarize what his friends have been telling him. Or his friends may have been quoting this proverb themselves in their advice to Job. Your language may have a similar saying that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “It’s always darkest before the dawn”
17:13 h88c rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche בַּ֝⁠חֹ֗שֶׁךְ רִפַּ֥דְתִּי יְצוּעָֽ⁠י 1 Job is using the single activity of preparing a **bed** on which to sleep to mean all that is involved in making a place one’s home. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if I have made my home in the realm of the dead”
17:13 j530 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy בַּ֝⁠חֹ֗שֶׁךְ 1 Job is using the term **darkness** to mean the realm of the dead, Sheol, by association with the way that it is dark there. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if in the realm of the dead”
17:14 j531 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes לַ⁠שַּׁ֣חַת קָ֭רָאתִי אָ֣בִ⁠י אָ֑תָּה 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “if I tell the pit that it is my father” or “if I call the pit my father”
17:14 uwb3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy לַ⁠שַּׁ֣חַת קָ֭רָאתִי אָ֣בִ⁠י אָ֑תָּה 1 If Job said this, he would be saying that **the pit** was his home, by association with the way that a person lives in the home of his **father**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if I call to the pit, ‘You {are} my home’”
17:14 j532 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe לַ⁠שַּׁ֣חַת קָ֭רָאתִי אָ֣בִ⁠י אָ֑תָּה 1 If Job did speak this way to **the pit**, that is, to the realm of the dead, he would be speaking to something that he knew could not hear and understand him in order to make an emphatic statement. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “if I said that the pit was certainly going to be my home”
17:14 j533 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis אִמִּ֥⁠י וַ֝⁠אֲחֹתִ֗⁠י לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה 1 Job is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “or if I call to the worm and say, ‘You are my mother,’ or, ‘You are my sister’”
17:14 e6lb rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy אִמִּ֥⁠י וַ֝⁠אֲחֹתִ֗⁠י לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה 1 If Job said this to a **worm**, such as would be found in a grave, he would be saying that the grave was going to be his home, by association with the way that a person shares a home with his **mother** and **sister**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “or if I call to the worm, ‘I am going to share the grave with you’” or “or if I call to the worm, ‘I am going to be in a grave, just as you are’”
17:14 j534 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe אִמִּ֥⁠י וַ֝⁠אֲחֹתִ֗⁠י לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה 1 If Job did speak this way to a **worm**, he would be speaking to something that he knew could not hear and understand him in order to make an emphatic statement. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly Alternate translation: “if I said that I was certainly going to be in a grave”
17:14 j535 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה 1 Job is not referring to a specific **worm**. He means any worm. Express this in the way that would be most natural in your language. Alternate translation: “to a worm”
17:14 nrr3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה 1 A **worm** is a small creature that burrows through the ground, passing the soil through its digestive system in order to extract the nutrients that it contains. Worms also pass whatever else they find underground through their digestive systems, including dead bodies. If your readers would not be familiar with what a worm is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable creature in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “to a small burrowing creature”
17:15 zb7d rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion וְ֭⁠אַיֵּה אֵפ֣וֹ תִקְוָתִ֑⁠י וְ֝⁠תִקְוָתִ֗⁠י מִ֣י יְשׁוּרֶֽ⁠נָּה 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “then I would not have any real hope! No, I would not have any hope that anyone could see!”
17:15 j536 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns וְ֭⁠אַיֵּה אֵפ֣וֹ תִקְוָתִ֑⁠י וְ֝⁠תִקְוָתִ֗⁠י מִ֣י יְשׁוּרֶֽ⁠נָּה 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **hope**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “then I would not really have anything to hope for! No, I would not have anything to hope for that anyone could see!”
17:16 h77p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion בַּדֵּ֣י שְׁאֹ֣ל תֵּרַ֑דְנָה אִם־יַ֖חַד עַל־עָפָ֣ר נָֽחַת 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: “Then they would descend to the bars of Sheol! Then our rest would be together in the dust!”
17:16 j537 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural תֵּרַ֑דְנָה 1 The pronoun **they** refers to the hope that Job described in the previous verse. Job may be using a plural term to speak of the hope that he said would not be and the hope that he said no one would see, even though this is basically the same hope. If it would be more natural in your language, you could use a singular pronoun in your translation. Alternate translation: “Will it descend” or, as a statement, “Then it would descend”
17:16 yx83 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy בַּדֵּ֣י שְׁאֹ֣ל 1 Job is using the term **bars** to mean “gates,” by association with the way that bars keep a gate locked. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to the gates of Sheol”
17:16 j538 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit בַּדֵּ֣י שְׁאֹ֣ל 1 Job means implicitly that if his hope went down to the **bars** or gates of Sheol, it would be admitted there. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “to Sheol and be admitted there”
17:16 z16e rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism אִם־יַ֖חַד עַל־עָפָ֣ר נָֽחַת 1 Job is speaking of having **rest** in the **dust** to mean “die.” This is a poetic way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “Will we die together” or “Will my hope die with me”
17:16 ajw5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification אִם־יַ֖חַד עַל־עָפָ֣ר נָֽחַת 1 Job is speaking of his hope as if it were a living thing that could have **rest**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Do I have nothing more to hope for in this life”
18:intro qk5f 0 # Job 18 General Notes\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\nIn this chapter, Job’s friend Bildad speaks to him for a second time. As Eliphaz did in his second speech to Job in chapter 15, Bildad speaks more strongly to Job in this speech than he did in his first speech. Using much of the same language that Job used in chapters 16 and 17, Bildad defends himself and the other two friends and warns Job that God will punish him severely if he continues to be wicked (as Bildad believes him to be).\n\nThe ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is poetry.
18:2 b4en rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Until when will you make ends of words 1 Bildad is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “You should make an end of words right now!” or “It is not helpful for you to keep saying such things!”
18:2 jpp1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy Until when will you make ends of words 1 Bildad is using the term **words** to mean what Job has been saying by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Bildad is answering Job by using the same language that Job used in in [16:3](../16/03.md). See how you translated the expression “an end to words” there; **ends of words** here is a slight variation. Alternate translation: “For how long will you keep talking”
18:2 j539 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural will you make & Consider 1 The pronoun **you** and the implied “you” in the imperative “Consider” are plural. Bildad may be using these plural forms because he is answering Job in his own words and Job addressed “all of you” (meaning his three friends) when he asked in 16:3](../16/03.md), “Is there an end to words of wind?” Bildad could be portraying Job as representative of a group of people who think and speak as he does. If your language marks a distinction between singular and plural “you,” it may be more natural to use singular forms in your translation.
18:3 b16n rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Why are we regarded as beasts, stupid in your eyes? 1 Bildad is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “We should not be regarded as beasts, stupid in your eyes!”
18:3 v7r1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive Why are we regarded as beasts 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “Why do you regard us as beasts”
18:3 j540 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile as beasts 1 Bildad is using this comparison to say that just as **beasts** have no understanding, so Job regards his friends as having no understanding. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “as beasts that have no understanding”
18:3 yk9u rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy in your eyes 1 Bildad is using the term **eyes** by association to mean sight. Sight, in turn, represents attention, perspective, and judgment. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “from your perspective”
18:3 pdy5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural your eyes 1 The word **your** is plural here, like the word “you” in the previous verse. Since Bildad is addressing Job, it may be more natural to use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
18:4 zm4p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person The one tearing himself in his nose 1 Bildad is speaking about Job in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “You who tear yourself in your nose”
18:4 j542 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit The one tearing himself in his nose 1 Bildad is continuing to answer Job in his own words. In [16:9](../16/09.md), Job spoke as if God were literally a wild animal that had **torn** him in his anger. Bildad is saying that it is actually Job who is tearing himself apart in his own anger. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “It is you who are tearing yourself apart in your anger”
18:4 ug9i rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion will the earth be forsaken for your sake, or will the rock move from its place? 1 Bildad is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “The earth will not be forsaken for your sake, and the rock will not move from its place!”
18:4 r5lg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive will the earth be forsaken 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “will people forsake the earth” or “will people stop living on the earth”
18:4 zyh5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit or will the rock move from its place 1 Bildad is continuing to answer Job in his own words. In [14:18–19](../14/19.md), Job said to God, “you destroy the hope of man,” and he compared that to the way “a rock moves from its place.” This could be a reference to an earthquake or a landslide. Bildad is implying that Job is being overly grandiose by comparing his individual situation with great natural events. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “It is not as if your individual situation is a great earthquake!”
18:5 e2fi rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor the light of the wicked goes out; the flame of his fire will not shine 1 Bildad is speaking of the happiness and prosperity of a wicked person as if those things were literally a **light** or **flame**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “any happiness or prosperity that wicked people enjoy will not last for very long”
18:5 d868 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj the wicked 1 Bildad is using the adjective **wicked** as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people” or, since Bildad uses the singular **his** later in the verse, “a wicked person”
18:6 uj2t rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor The light in his tent will be dark, and his lamp will go out above him. 1 Bildad is continuing to speak of the happiness and prosperity of a wicked person as if those things were literally a **light** or **lamp**. He is also continuing to answer Job in his own words. In [17:12](../17/12.md), Job said that his friends were telling him that light must be near because it was presently so dark in his life. Bildad is saying here in response that wicked people may be in the light, but soon it will become dark for them. To help make this clear to your readers, it may be helpful to use the same language here that you used in [17:12](../17/12.md). Alternate translation: “Even though a wicked person may have light, darkness is near” or “Even though a wicked person may experience prosperity, soon he will have trouble instead”
18:7 fxl3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche The steps of his strength will shorten 1 Bildad is using one sign of weakness, a shortening stride, to indicate weakness in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will become weak”
18:7 j543 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession the steps of his strength 1 Bildad is using this possessive form to speak of **steps** that are characterized by **strength**. It may be more natural for you to express this meaning using a form other than a possessive. Alternate translation: “His vigorous stride will shorten”
18:7 bgk5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification and his plan will cast him down 1 Bildad is speaking of a **plan** that a wicked person might make as if it were a living thing that could **cast him down**, that is, throw him or make him fall onto the ground. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and his schemes will only harm him in the end”
18:8 t3iw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor he will be cast into a net by his feet, and he will wander into a pitfall 1 Bildad is speaking as if a wicked person would literally be caught in a **net** or **pitfall**. He means that such a person will experience troubles that will keep him from fulfilling his plans. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he will experience troubles that will keep him from fulfilling his plans”
18:8 fl11 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification he will be cast into a net by his feet 1 Bildad is speaking of the **feet** of a wicked person as if they were a living thing that could **cast** him **into a net**. The implication seems to be that if the feet of the wicked person, rather than his eyes and his mind, are determining where he is going, he will walk into dangers unawares. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he will walk unawares into a net”
18:8 wa1n rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown a pitfall 1 A **pitfall** is a type of trap for animals. To make it, people dig a pit in the ground and cover it with netting. They then put plant materials all over the netting to make it appear that the trap is just ordinary ground. If your readers would not be familiar with what a pitfall is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “a concealed trap”
18:9 t6fv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor A snare will seize {him} by the heel; a trap will hold onto him. 1 Bildad is continuing to speak of a wicked person as if he would literally be caught in a **snare** or **trap**. If you decided in the previous verse to express the meaning of this image rather than retain it in your translation, you could restate the meaning here. Alternate translation: “Yes, a wicked person will not be able to succeed; he will fail because of all the trouble that he causes for himself”
18:9 jr8g rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown A snare will seize {him} by the heel 1 A **snare** was a device that people in this culture used to catch birds. It consisted of a loose loop of cord inside which a hunter would put seeds or other bait. When a bird came inside the loop to eat the bait, the hunter would pull on the cord and catch the bird by its feet. A snare might also have a mechanism that a bird would trigger automatically by stepping inside the loop. Bildad is speaking as if this would happen to a wicked person, so that he would be caught **by the heel**. If your readers would not be familiar with what a snare is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “He will step into a device that will seize his foot”
18:9 j544 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown a trap 1 By **trap**, Bildad means some other device for catching birds or animals. Interpreters are unsure exactly what this device is. The word Bildad uses suggests the idea of braiding, and so this could be a net of some kind. Alternate translation: “a net”
18:10 u5yk rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor His rope is hidden on the ground, and his trap for him {on} the path 1 Bildad is continuing to speak of a wicked person as if he would literally be caught by a **rope** or **trap**. If you decided in the previous two verses to express the meaning of this image rather than retain it in your translation, you could restate the meaning in another way here.
18:10 j545 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession His rope & and his trap 1 In these possessive forms, **His** and **his** are the objects rather than the subjects of **rope** and **trap**. That is, Bildad is not speaking of a rope and trap that the wicked person owns but of a rope and trap that will catch the wicked person. Alternate translation: “The rope that will catch him and the trap that will catch him”
18:10 q4wx rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive His rope is hidden in the ground 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “The ground is concealing the rope that will catch him”
18:10 xp42 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown His rope 1 By **rope**, Bildad means some further device for catching birds or animals. He seems to mean some larger device for catching animals that would work the same way as a “snare” that catches birds. A hunter might hide a loop of rope **in the ground** and pull on the rope to catch an animal once it stepped inside the loop. Alternate translation: “a loop of rope to catch him”
18:10 f193 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis and his trap for him {on} the path 1 Bildad is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and a trap is hidden for him on the path”
18:10 j546 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown and his trap 1 It is unclear whether Bildad is talking about a specific type of **trap** here. He may be using a general term for any device that would catch a bird or animal. If your language has such a general term, it would be appropriate to use it here in your translation.
18:11 ln1g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification and they will chase him at his feet 1 Bildad is speaking of these **Terrors** as if they were a living thing that could **chase** a wicked person the way a dog or wolf would, nipping at his **feet** to disable him so that he could not run away to safety. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will not be able to escape from these troubles”
18:12 v7el rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification His strength becomes hungry 1 Bildad is speaking of the **strength** of a wicked person as if it were a living thing that could become **hungry**. He means that a wicked person’s strength becomes weakened as if by hunger. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He is weakened as if by hunger”
18:12 j547 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive and disaster {is} prepared 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who has done the action, the context suggests that it is God. Alternate translation: “and God has prepared disaster”
18:12 zbs5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor at his side 1 Bildad is speaking as if **disaster** were literally at the **side** of a wicked person. He means that it will strike him as soon as there is opportunity. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to strike him as soon as there is opportunity”
18:13 u5is rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns It devours parts of his skin; the firstborn of death devours his parts 1 The pronoun **It** refers to **the firstborn of death** later in the verse. If it would be clearer in your language, you could put the noun phrase in the first part of the verse and the pronoun in the second part of the verse. Alternate translation: “The firstborn of death devours parts of his skin; it devours his parts”
18:13 mrr7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom the firstborn of death 1 The expression **the firstborn of death** means the strongest kind of death or a terrible kind of death. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “a deadly disease”
18:13 j548 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession his parts 1 Since the pronoun **his** in this possessive form refers to the wicked person as a whole, it is likely that the word **parts** describes his arms and his legs. Alternate translation: “his arms and his legs”
18:14 m1gl rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive He is pulled 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, from the context it appears that this may be terror itself, since terror seems to be personified in the second part of the verse. Alternate translation: “Terror pulls him”
18:14 j549 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification He is pulled & and one marches him 1 If terror is indeed the agent that Bildad says pulls the wicked person from his tent, then Bildad is speaking of terror as if it were a living thing that could do this. He actually means that the disasters that cause a wicked person to feel terror also deprive him of safety and security. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “The disasters that cause him to feel terror take him away … and they march him”
18:14 r3dq rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns and one marches him to the king of terrors 1 The pronoun **one** probably refers to terror. The pronoun is feminine, as is the word “terror,” and Hebrew speakers sometimes used feminine pronouns to represent feminine subjects they had not yet named but which they had in mind. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “and terror marches him to its king”
18:14 atl1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification and one marches him to the king of terrors 1 If the pronoun **one** does refer to terror, then Bildad is speaking of terror as if it were a living thing, a soldier, who could march a captured enemy to his **king** as a prisoner. Once again Bildad would be using terror to mean the disasters that cause a wicked person to feel terror. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and the disasters that cause him to feel terror bring him to the king of terrors”
18:14 j550 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom and it marches him to the king of terrors 1 Like the expression “the firstborn of death” in the previous verse, the expression **the king of terrors** here is a superlative. It means the worst terror there is, specifically, death. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and the disasters that cause him to feel terror ultimately cause him to die”
18:15 j551 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns One will dwell in his tent 1 The pronoun **One** is feminine in this verse, as in the previous verse, and so it may refer once again to terror. (However, interpreters have a range of understandings of what this verse means.) Alternate translation: “Terror will dwell in his tent”
18:15 n4sy rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit {which is} not to him 1 Bildad means implicitly that the **tent** will no longer belong to the wicked person, probably because he will be dead (a prisoner of the “king of terrors,” death, as the previous verse describes). You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “which will be abandoned because he is dead”
18:15 fpm9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive sulfur is scattered upon his home 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, the context suggests that it is God. Alternate translation: “God scatters sulfur upon his home” or “God destroys his home by raining burning sulfur on it”
18:16 uul5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor Below, his roots dry up, and above, his branch withers. 1 Bildad is speaking as if the wicked person were literally a tree that dies from lack of moisture. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He fails in every aspect of life and finally he dies”
18:16 u1by rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun his branch 1 Bildad is not referring to a specific **branch**. He means every branch on the tree that he is using to symbolize the wicked person. If you retain the image in your translation, it may be more natural in your language to use a plural form. Alternate translation: “his branches”
18:17 m6xw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession His memory 1 Bildad is using this possessive form to mean other people’s **memory** of the wicked person, not the wicked person’s memory of things. Alternate translation: “The memory of him”
18:17 j552 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy from the earth 1 Bildad is using the term **earth** by association to mean the people who live on the earth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “from among the people who live on the earth”
18:17 y9j9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy name 1 Here, **name** represents a person’s fame and reputation. Alternate translation: “reputation”
18:17 fs6r rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor upon the face of the land 1 Bildad is speaking as if the surface of the land or ground were literally its **face**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “upon the surface of the land”
18:18 er2m rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns They will drive him from light into darkness 1 The pronoun **They** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be more natural in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “He will be driven from light into darkness”
18:18 w8ix rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor They will drive him from light into darkness 1 Bildad is using the term **light** to represent life and the term **darkness** to represent death. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will be driven from among the living into the abode of the dead”
18:18 dr9v rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns and they will chase him from the world 1 The pronoun **they** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “yes, he will be chased from the world”
18:20 wn9y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-merism The ones after will wonder at his day, and the ones before will seize horror 1 Bildad is using two groups of people to mean all people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. This could mean: (1) people who live after God punishes the wicked person and people who were alive beforehand and recognized that God would punish the wicked person. Alternate translation: “The way God punishes him will make a great impression on everyone who ever hears of him” (2) people who live to the west of the wicked person and people who live to the east of the wicked person. Alternate translation: “The way God punishes him will make a great impression on the people who live all around him”
18:20 j553 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj The ones after & the ones before 1 If Bildad is speaking of people who live **after** and **before** God punishes the wicked person, then he is using those adjectives as nouns to mean certain groups of people. The ULT adds the word **ones** in each case to suggest this. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate these words with equivalent phrases. Alternate translation: “Those who live after him … those who see what is going to happen to him”
18:20 r4pt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom his day 1 Bildad is using the term **day** to mean what happens to the wicked person at a particular time, the time when God punishes him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “what happens to him when God punishes him”
18:20 j554 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor will seize horror 1 Bildad is speaking as if **horror** were literally an object that people could **seize**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will become horrified”
18:21 da3s rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor Surely these {are} the dwellings of the wicked, and this {is} the place of one {who} does not know God. 1 Bildad is speaking as if all the misfortunes he has described were literally the **dwellings** of wicked people, the **place** where they live. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “this is what will happen to the wicked, yes, this is the fate of one who does not know God”
18:21 j555 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj the wicked 1 Bildad is using the adjective **wicked** as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
18:2 b4en rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion עַד־אָ֤נָה ׀ תְּשִׂימ֣וּ⁠ן קִנְצֵ֣י לְ⁠מִלִּ֑ין 1 Bildad is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “You should make an end of words right now!” or “It is not helpful for you to keep saying such things!”
18:2 jpp1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy עַד־אָ֤נָה ׀ תְּשִׂימ֣וּ⁠ן קִנְצֵ֣י לְ⁠מִלִּ֑ין 1 Bildad is using the term **words** to mean what Job has been saying by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Bildad is answering Job by using the same language that Job used in in [16:3](../16/03.md). See how you translated the expression “an end to words” there; **ends of words** here is a slight variation. Alternate translation: “For how long will you keep talking”
18:2 j539 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural תְּשִׂימ֣וּ⁠ן & תָּ֝בִ֗ינוּ 1 The pronoun **you** and the implied “you” in the imperative “Consider” are plural. Bildad may be using these plural forms because he is answering Job in his own words and Job addressed “all of you” (meaning his three friends) when he asked in 16:3](../16/03.md), “Is there an end to words of wind?” Bildad could be portraying Job as representative of a group of people who think and speak as he does. If your language marks a distinction between singular and plural “you,” it may be more natural to use singular forms in your translation.
18:3 b16n rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion מַ֭דּוּעַ נֶחְשַׁ֣בְנוּ כַ⁠בְּהֵמָ֑ה נִ֝טְמִ֗ינוּ בְּ⁠עֵינֵי⁠כֶֽם 1 Bildad is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “We should not be regarded as beasts, stupid in your eyes!”
18:3 v7r1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive מַ֭דּוּעַ נֶחְשַׁ֣בְנוּ כַ⁠בְּהֵמָ֑ה 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “Why do you regard us as beasts”
18:3 j540 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile כַ⁠בְּהֵמָ֑ה 1 Bildad is using this comparison to say that just as **beasts** have no understanding, so Job regards his friends as having no understanding. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “as beasts that have no understanding”
18:3 yk9u rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy בְּ⁠עֵינֵי⁠כֶֽם 1 Bildad is using the term **eyes** by association to mean sight. Sight, in turn, represents attention, perspective, and judgment. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “from your perspective”
18:3 pdy5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural בְּ⁠עֵינֵי⁠כֶֽם 1 The word **your** is plural here, like the word “you” in the previous verse. Since Bildad is addressing Job, it may be more natural to use the singular form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
18:4 zm4p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person טֹֽרֵ֥ף נַפְשׁ֗⁠וֹ בְּ⁠אַ֫פּ֥⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is speaking about Job in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the second person. Alternate translation: “You who tear yourself in your nose”
18:4 j542 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit טֹֽרֵ֥ף נַפְשׁ֗⁠וֹ בְּ⁠אַ֫פּ֥⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is continuing to answer Job in his own words. In [16:9](../16/09.md), Job spoke as if God were literally a wild animal that had **torn** him in his anger. Bildad is saying that it is actually Job who is tearing himself apart in his own anger. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “It is you who are tearing yourself apart in your anger”
18:4 ug9i rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion הַ֭⁠לְמַעַנְ⁠ךָ תֵּעָ֣זַב אָ֑רֶץ וְ⁠יֶעְתַּק־צ֝֗וּר מִ⁠מְּקֹמֽ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “The earth will not be forsaken for your sake, and the rock will not move from its place!”
18:4 r5lg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive תֵּעָ֣זַב אָ֑רֶץ 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “will people forsake the earth” or “will people stop living on the earth”
18:4 zyh5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit וְ⁠יֶעְתַּק־צ֝֗וּר מִ⁠מְּקֹמֽ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is continuing to answer Job in his own words. In [14:18–19](../14/19.md), Job said to God, “you destroy the hope of man,” and he compared that to the way “a rock moves from its place.” This could be a reference to an earthquake or a landslide. Bildad is implying that Job is being overly grandiose by comparing his individual situation with great natural events. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: “It is not as if your individual situation is a great earthquake!”
18:5 e2fi rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor א֣וֹר רְשָׁעִ֣ים יִדְעָ֑ךְ וְ⁠לֹֽא־יִ֝גַּ֗הּ שְׁבִ֣יב אִשּֽׁ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is speaking of the happiness and prosperity of a wicked person as if those things were literally a **light** or **flame**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “any happiness or prosperity that wicked people enjoy will not last for very long”
18:5 d868 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj רְשָׁעִ֣ים 1 Bildad is using the adjective **wicked** as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people” or, since Bildad uses the singular **his** later in the verse, “a wicked person”
18:6 uj2t rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor א֭וֹר חָשַׁ֣ךְ בְּ⁠אָהֳל֑⁠וֹ וְ֝⁠נֵר֗⁠וֹ עָלָ֥י⁠ו יִדְעָֽךְ 1 Bildad is continuing to speak of the happiness and prosperity of a wicked person as if those things were literally a **light** or **lamp**. He is also continuing to answer Job in his own words. In [17:12](../17/12.md), Job said that his friends were telling him that light must be near because it was presently so dark in his life. Bildad is saying here in response that wicked people may be in the light, but soon it will become dark for them. To help make this clear to your readers, it may be helpful to use the same language here that you used in [17:12](../17/12.md). Alternate translation: “Even though a wicked person may have light, darkness is near” or “Even though a wicked person may experience prosperity, soon he will have trouble instead”
18:7 fxl3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche יֵֽ֭צְרוּ צַעֲדֵ֣י אוֹנ֑⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is using one sign of weakness, a shortening stride, to indicate weakness in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will become weak”
18:7 j543 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession צַעֲדֵ֣י אוֹנ֑⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is using this possessive form to speak of **steps** that are characterized by **strength**. It may be more natural for you to express this meaning using a form other than a possessive. Alternate translation: “His vigorous stride will shorten”
18:7 bgk5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification וְֽ⁠תַשְׁלִיכֵ֥⁠הוּ עֲצָתֽ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is speaking of a **plan** that a wicked person might make as if it were a living thing that could **cast him down**, that is, throw him or make him fall onto the ground. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and his schemes will only harm him in the end”
18:8 t3iw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor שֻׁלַּ֣ח בְּ⁠רֶ֣שֶׁת בְּ⁠רַגְלָ֑י⁠ו וְ⁠עַל־שְׂ֝בָכָ֗ה יִתְהַלָּֽךְ 1 Bildad is speaking as if a wicked person would literally be caught in a **net** or **pitfall**. He means that such a person will experience troubles that will keep him from fulfilling his plans. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he will experience troubles that will keep him from fulfilling his plans”
18:8 fl11 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification שֻׁלַּ֣ח בְּ⁠רֶ֣שֶׁת בְּ⁠רַגְלָ֑י⁠ו 1 Bildad is speaking of the **feet** of a wicked person as if they were a living thing that could **cast** him **into a net**. The implication seems to be that if the feet of the wicked person, rather than his eyes and his mind, are determining where he is going, he will walk into dangers unawares. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he will walk unawares into a net”
18:8 wa1n rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown שְׂ֝בָכָ֗ה 1 A **pitfall** is a type of trap for animals. To make it, people dig a pit in the ground and cover it with netting. They then put plant materials all over the netting to make it appear that the trap is just ordinary ground. If your readers would not be familiar with what a pitfall is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “a concealed trap”
18:9 t6fv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יֹאחֵ֣ז בְּ⁠עָקֵ֣ב פָּ֑ח יַחֲזֵ֖ק עָלָ֣י⁠ו צַמִּֽים 1 Bildad is continuing to speak of a wicked person as if he would literally be caught in a **snare** or **trap**. If you decided in the previous verse to express the meaning of this image rather than retain it in your translation, you could restate the meaning here. Alternate translation: “Yes, a wicked person will not be able to succeed; he will fail because of all the trouble that he causes for himself”
18:9 jr8g rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown יֹאחֵ֣ז בְּ⁠עָקֵ֣ב פָּ֑ח 1 A **snare** was a device that people in this culture used to catch birds. It consisted of a loose loop of cord inside which a hunter would put seeds or other bait. When a bird came inside the loop to eat the bait, the hunter would pull on the cord and catch the bird by its feet. A snare might also have a mechanism that a bird would trigger automatically by stepping inside the loop. Bildad is speaking as if this would happen to a wicked person, so that he would be caught **by the heel**. If your readers would not be familiar with what a snare is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “He will step into a device that will seize his foot”
18:9 j544 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown צַמִּֽים 1 By **trap**, Bildad means some other device for catching birds or animals. Interpreters are unsure exactly what this device is. The word Bildad uses suggests the idea of braiding, and so this could be a net of some kind. Alternate translation: “a net”
18:10 u5yk rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor טָמ֣וּן בָּ⁠אָ֣רֶץ חַבְל֑⁠וֹ וּ֝⁠מַלְכֻּדְתּ֗⁠וֹ עֲלֵ֣י נָתִֽיב 1 Bildad is continuing to speak of a wicked person as if he would literally be caught by a **rope** or **trap**. If you decided in the previous two verses to express the meaning of this image rather than retain it in your translation, you could restate the meaning in another way here.
18:10 j545 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession חַבְל֑⁠וֹ וּ֝⁠מַלְכֻּדְתּ֗⁠וֹ עֲלֵ֣י 1 In these possessive forms, **His** and **his** are the objects rather than the subjects of **rope** and **trap**. That is, Bildad is not speaking of a rope and trap that the wicked person owns but of a rope and trap that will catch the wicked person. Alternate translation: “The rope that will catch him … and the trap that will catch him is hidden”
18:10 q4wx rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive טָמ֣וּן בָּ⁠אָ֣רֶץ חַבְל֑⁠וֹ 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “The ground is concealing the rope that will catch him”
18:10 xp42 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown חַבְל֑⁠וֹ 1 By **rope**, Bildad means some further device for catching birds or animals. He seems to mean some larger device for catching animals that would work the same way as a “snare” that catches birds. A hunter might hide a loop of rope **in the ground** and pull on the rope to catch an animal once it stepped inside the loop. Alternate translation: “a loop of rope to catch him”
18:10 f193 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis וּ֝⁠מַלְכֻּדְתּ֗⁠וֹ עֲלֵ֣י נָתִֽיב 1 Bildad is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and a trap is hidden for him on the path”
18:10 j546 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown וּ֝⁠מַלְכֻּדְתּ֗⁠וֹ 1 It is unclear whether Bildad is talking about a specific type of **trap** here. He may be using a general term for any device that would catch a bird or animal. If your language has such a general term, it would be appropriate to use it here in your translation.
18:11 ln1g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification וֶ⁠הֱפִיצֻ֥⁠הוּ לְ⁠רַגְלָֽי⁠ו 1 Bildad is speaking of these **Terrors** as if they were a living thing that could **chase** a wicked person the way a dog or wolf would, nipping at his **feet** to disable him so that he could not run away to safety. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will not be able to escape from these troubles”
18:12 v7el rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification יְהִי־רָעֵ֥ב אֹנ֑⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is speaking of the **strength** of a wicked person as if it were a living thing that could become **hungry**. He means that a wicked person’s strength becomes weakened as if by hunger. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He is weakened as if by hunger”
18:12 j547 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive וְ֝⁠אֵ֗יד נָכ֥וֹן 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who has done the action, the context suggests that it is God. Alternate translation: “and God has prepared disaster”
18:12 zbs5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor לְ⁠צַלְעֽ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is speaking as if **disaster** were literally at the **side** of a wicked person. He means that it will strike him as soon as there is opportunity. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to strike him as soon as there is opportunity”
18:13 u5is rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns יֹ֭אכַל בַּדֵּ֣י עוֹר֑⁠וֹ יֹאכַ֥ל בַּ֝דָּ֗י⁠ו בְּכ֣וֹר מָֽוֶת 1 The pronoun **It** refers to **the firstborn of death** later in the verse. If it would be clearer in your language, you could put the noun phrase in the first part of the verse and the pronoun in the second part of the verse. Alternate translation: “The firstborn of death devours parts of his skin; it devours his parts”
18:13 mrr7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom בְּכ֣וֹר מָֽוֶת 1 The expression **the firstborn of death** means the strongest kind of death or a terrible kind of death. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “a deadly disease”
18:13 j548 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession בַּ֝דָּ֗י⁠ו 1 Since the pronoun **his** in this possessive form refers to the wicked person as a whole, it is likely that the word **parts** describes his arms and his legs. Alternate translation: “his arms and his legs”
18:14 j549 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification יִנָּתֵ֣ק & וְ֝⁠תַצְעִדֵ֗⁠הוּ 1 If terror is indeed the agent that Bildad says pulls the wicked person from his tent, then Bildad is speaking of terror as if it were a living thing that could do this. He actually means that the disasters that cause a wicked person to feel terror also deprive him of safety and security. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “The disasters that cause him to feel terror take him away … and they march him”
18:14 m1gl rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive יִנָּתֵ֣ק 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, from the context it appears that this may be terror itself, since terror seems to be personified in the second part of the verse. Alternate translation: “Terror pulls him”
18:14 r3dq rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns וְ֝⁠תַצְעִדֵ֗⁠הוּ לְ⁠מֶ֣לֶךְ בַּלָּהֽוֹת 1 The pronoun **one** probably refers to terror. The pronoun is feminine, as is the word “terror,” and Hebrew speakers sometimes used feminine pronouns to represent feminine subjects they had not yet named but which they had in mind. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “and terror marches him to its king”
18:14 atl1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification וְ֝⁠תַצְעִדֵ֗⁠הוּ לְ⁠מֶ֣לֶךְ בַּלָּהֽוֹת 1 If the pronoun **one** does refer to terror, then Bildad is speaking of terror as if it were a living thing, a soldier, who could march a captured enemy to his **king** as a prisoner. Once again Bildad would be using terror to mean the disasters that cause a wicked person to feel terror. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and the disasters that cause him to feel terror bring him to the king of terrors”
18:14 j550 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom וְ֝⁠תַצְעִדֵ֗⁠הוּ לְ⁠מֶ֣לֶךְ בַּלָּהֽוֹת 1 Like the expression “the firstborn of death” in the previous verse, the expression **the king of terrors** here is a superlative. It means the worst terror there is, specifically, death. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and the disasters that cause him to feel terror ultimately cause him to die”
18:15 j551 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns תִּשְׁכּ֣וֹן בְּ֭⁠אָהֳל⁠וֹ 1 The pronoun **One** is feminine in this verse, as in the previous verse, and so it may refer once again to terror. (However, interpreters have a range of understandings of what this verse means.) Alternate translation: “Terror will dwell in his tent”
18:15 n4sy rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit מִ⁠בְּלִי־ל֑⁠וֹ 1 Bildad means implicitly that the **tent** will no longer belong to the wicked person, probably because he will be dead (a prisoner of the “king of terrors,” death, as the previous verse describes). You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “which will be abandoned because he is dead”
18:15 fpm9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive יְזֹרֶ֖ה עַל־נָוֵ֣⁠הוּ גָפְרִֽית 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, the context suggests that it is God. Alternate translation: “God scatters sulfur upon his home” or “God destroys his home by raining burning sulfur on it”
18:16 uul5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor מִ֭⁠תַּחַת שָֽׁרָשָׁ֣י⁠ו יִבָ֑שׁוּ וּ֝⁠מִ⁠מַּ֗עַל יִמַּ֥ל קְצִירֽ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is speaking as if the wicked person were literally a tree that dies from lack of moisture. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He fails in every aspect of life and finally he dies”
18:16 u1by rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun קְצִירֽ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is not referring to a specific **branch**. He means every branch on the tree that he is using to symbolize the wicked person. If you retain the image in your translation, it may be more natural in your language to use a plural form. Alternate translation: “his branches”
18:17 m6xw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession זִֽכְר⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is using this possessive form to mean other people’s **memory** of the wicked person, not the wicked person’s memory of things. Alternate translation: “The memory of him”
18:17 j552 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy מִנִּי־אָ֑רֶץ 1 Bildad is using the term **earth** by association to mean the people who live on the earth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “from among the people who live on the earth”
18:17 y9j9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy שֵׁ֥ם 1 Here, **name** represents a person’s fame and reputation. Alternate translation: “reputation”
18:17 fs6r rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor עַל־פְּנֵי־חֽוּץ 1 Bildad is speaking as if the surface of the land or ground were literally its **face**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “upon the surface of the land”
18:18 er2m rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns יֶ֭הְדְּפֻ⁠הוּ מֵ⁠א֣וֹר אֶל־חֹ֑שֶׁךְ 1 The pronoun **They** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be more natural in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “He will be driven from light into darkness”
18:18 w8ix rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יֶ֭הְדְּפֻ⁠הוּ מֵ⁠א֣וֹר אֶל־חֹ֑שֶׁךְ 1 Bildad is using the term **light** to represent life and the term **darkness** to represent death. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will be driven from among the living into the abode of the dead”
18:18 dr9v rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns וּֽ⁠מִ⁠תֵּבֵ֥ל יְנִדֻּֽ⁠הוּ 1 The pronoun **they** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “yes, he will be chased from the world”
18:20 wn9y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-merism עַל־י֭וֹמ⁠וֹ נָשַׁ֣מּוּ אַחֲרֹנִ֑ים וְ֝⁠קַדְמֹנִ֗ים אָ֣חֲזוּ שָֽׂעַר 1 Bildad is using two groups of people to mean all people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. This could mean: (1) people who live after God punishes the wicked person and people who were alive beforehand and recognized that God would punish the wicked person. Alternate translation: “The way God punishes him will make a great impression on everyone who ever hears of him” (2) people who live to the west of the wicked person and people who live to the east of the wicked person. Alternate translation: “The way God punishes him will make a great impression on the people who live all around him”
18:20 j553 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj אַחֲרֹנִ֑ים וְ֝⁠קַדְמֹנִ֗ים 1 If Bildad is speaking of people who live **after** and **before** God punishes the wicked person, then he is using those adjectives as nouns to mean certain groups of people. The ULT adds the word **ones** in each case to suggest this. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate these words with equivalent phrases. Alternate translation: “Those who live after him … and those who see what is going to happen to him”
18:20 r4pt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom י֭וֹמ⁠וֹ 1 Bildad is using the term **day** to mean what happens to the wicked person at a particular time, the time when God punishes him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “what happens to him when God punishes him”
18:20 j554 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor אָ֣חֲזוּ שָֽׂעַר 1 Bildad is speaking as if **horror** were literally an object that people could **seize**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will become horrified”
18:21 da3s rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor אַךְ־אֵ֭לֶּה מִשְׁכְּנ֣וֹת עַוָּ֑ל וְ֝⁠זֶ֗ה מְק֣וֹם לֹא־יָדַֽע־אֵֽל 1 Bildad is speaking as if all the misfortunes he has described were literally the **dwellings** of wicked people, the **place** where they live. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “this is what will happen to the wicked, yes, this is the fate of one who does not know God”
18:21 j555 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj עַוָּ֑ל 1 Bildad is using the adjective **wicked** as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
19:intro vq57 0 # Job 19 General Notes\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\nThis chapter is Job’s response to Bildad’s second speech. It is structured as a chiasm. (See the discussion of that poetic form in the General Introduction to Job.)\n- Verses 1–7: Job rebukes his friends for not being sympathetic to him.\n- Verses 8–1: Job uses images to describe how God has made him suffer.\n- Verses 13–19: Job describes how his family and friends have abandoned him.\n- Verses 20–21: Job uses images to describe how God has made him suffer.\n- Verse 22: Job rebukes his friends for not being sympathetic to him.\n- Verses 23–24: Job wishes that people would hear his defense and he foresees that God will vindicate him.\n\nThe ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is a poem.\n\n## Special Concepts in This Chapter\n\n### Job’s Faith\n\nIn verses 25–27, Job shows the great depth of his faith in God even after suffering so much. Job believes that even if God is treating him unfairly now, God will ultimately do the right thing. Job does not understand that God is actually not treating him unfairly. But the faith and confidence that he nevertheless has in God are remarkable. (See: [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith]])
19:2 xxa9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Until when will you afflict my soul and crush me with words? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “You have afflicted my soul and crushed me with words for long enough!”
19:2 j556 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular will you afflict & crush me 1 The word **you** is plural here and through verse 5 because Job is addressing his three friends, so use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
19:2 j557 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche my soul 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **soul**, to mean all of him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “me”
19:2 r3lw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and crush me with words 1 Job is speaking as if his friends could literally **crush** him with their **words**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and discourage me deeply with your words”
19:2 j558 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy with words 1 Job is using the term **words** to mean what his friends have been saying by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “by what you have been saying”
19:3 k4th rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom ten times 1 The expression **ten times** means “many times,” not literally ten times, no more and no less. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “many times”
19:3 uy8e rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-sentences you are not ashamed, you mistreat me 1 In this sentence structure, the verb **mistreat** is dependent on the verb **ashamed**. It may be more natural in your language to use a different sentence structure. Alternate translation: “you are not ashamed to mistreat me”
19:4 bfn1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit my error remains with me 1 Interpreters are not certain what Job means by this statement. He could mean: (1) that any sin he might have committed would be his own private concern. This would be consistent with his rebuke of his friends for reproaching him publicly as a sinner. Alternate translation: “that would be my own private concern” (2) that he would be the only one who would know for sure whether he had sinned. Alternate translation: “that would be for me to determine”
19:5 z7gm rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit you will exalt yourselves above me and plead my disgrace against me 1 See how you translated the similar use of the term **exalt** in [17:4](../17/04.md). Alternate translation: “you want to prove that you are right and I am wrong by appealing to the way that I am suffering”
19:6 gb9h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and his net has closed around me 1 Job is speaking as if a **net** that God had set as a trap had literally **closed around** him. Job is answering Bildad in his own words, but Job is making the net a symbol of the unjust punishment of the innocent rather than of the just punishment of the wicked. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, he has unfairly punished me even though I am innocent”
19:7 zyg9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom I cry, ‘Violence!’ 1 The expression **Violence!** refers generally to mistreatment, including but not limited to actual violence. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I cry, ‘Someone is mistreating me’”
19:7 j559 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes I cry, ‘Violence!’ 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “I protest that someone is mistreating me”
19:7 j560 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive but I am not answered 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “but no one answers me”
19:7 i4w8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns but {there is} no justice 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **justice**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “but no one ensures that I am treated justly”
19:8 dpr7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He has walled up my way and I do not pass 1 Job is speaking of his life as if it were a **way** or path that he was walking along, and he is speaking as if God had built a wall to block that path so that he could not continue on it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. See how you translated the similar image in [3:23](../03/23.md). Alternate translation: “God has kept me from being able to overcome my troubles and resume my regular life”
19:8 ly9g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and he has set darkness upon my paths 1 In a parallel image, Job is speaking of his activities as if they were **paths** on which he was walking, and he is speaking as if God had made it so dark on those paths that he could not walk on them because he could not see where he was going. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, God has prevented me from knowing the right things to do”
19:9 hjr9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He has stripped my glory from upon me 1 Job is speaking as if the **glory** or honor that he formerly had were literally an article of clothing that God had **stripped** from him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He has taken away the honor that I formerly had”
19:9 rf7s rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and he has removed the crown of my head 1 Job is speaking as if he had formerly been wearing an actual **crown**, a symbol of ruling authority, and that God had **removed** that crown from his **head**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, he has deprived me of the authority I once had”
19:9 j561 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession the crown of my head 1 Job is using this possessive form to speak symbolically of a crown that he once wore on his head. In the context, the phrase **the crown of my head** does not mean the very top of Job’s head. Alternate translation: “the crown that I once wore on my head”
19:10 tiq1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He has broken me down on every side 1 Job is speaking as he were literally a building and God had **broken** him **down** completely. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He has destroyed everything in my life”
19:10 r4pd rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and I have gone away 1 Job is speaking as if he has literally **gone away** or left the area where he was formerly living. See how you translated the similar expression in [14:20](../14/20.md). If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Job is speaking of what he expects to happen imminently as if it had already happened. Alternate translation: “and I am about to die”
19:10 jd8w rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile and he has removed my hope like a tree 1 Job is using this comparison to say that just as a tree will not grow again once it has been completely uprooted, so he believes that God has taken away his hope forever. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “and he has taken away my hope forever, just as an uprooted tree will never grow back”
19:10 v64y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns and he has removed my hope like a tree 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **hope**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “and he has kept me from ever hoping again, just as an uprooted tree will never grow back”
19:11 p3my rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor And he has kindled his nose against me 1 Job is speaking as if God had literally **kindled** his anger or set it on fire. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “And he has allowed himself to become very angry with me”
19:12 wkz6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor His troops come together, and they build up their ramps against me, and they encamp around my tent 1 Job is speaking as if he were literally a city and God had sent **troops** to lay siege to that city, building **ramps** by which they could get over its walls. Job is likely speaking of the troubles he is experiencing as if they were soldiers whom God had sent to attack him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “God has made me experience many kinds of troubles, and they are causing me more and more distress”
19:12 fg89 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and they encamp around my tent 1 Job continues the military image but changes it slightly when he speaks as if he were literally a **tent** around which an enemy army had encamped. Job may be picturing himself as one of a number of soldiers who are all staying in tents but whose camp an enemy army has surrounded. Or Job may be using the word **tent** simply to mean the place where he lives, that is, his life. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, I am experiencing troubles in many different aspects of my life”
19:13 zk2b rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He has put my brothers far from me 1 Job is speaking as God had removed his **brothers** to a distance from him. Job is actually speaking of the diminished quality of the relationship he now has with them. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He has caused my brothers to withdraw from me”
19:13 j563 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom my brothers 1 Job is probably using the word **brothers** to mean close relatives, both male and female, who may not literally be his siblings. Your language may use that word or an equivalent term in the same way. If not, you could express the meaning in plain language. Alternate translation: “my close relatives”
19:13 iv61 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and my acquaintances indeed have turned away from me 1 Job is speaking as if his **acquaintances** had literally **turned away** from him, that is, turned to face in another direction so that they could not see him or turned and walked away from him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and my acquaintances now act as if they do not even know me”
19:14 l2e7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and my familiar friends have forgotten me 1 Job is speaking as if his **familiar friends** had literally **forgotten** him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “act as if they never knew me”
19:15 kz75 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession Guests of my house 1 Job is using this possessive form to refer to people who have stayed in his **house** as **Guests**. Alternate translation: “People who once stayed in my house as guests”
19:15 y376 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy in their eyes 1 Job is using the term **eyes** by association to mean sight. Sight, in turn, represents attention, perspective, and judgment. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “from their perspective” or “as far as they are concerned”
19:16 x8ak rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit I call to my servant, but he does not answer 1 In this context, the word **call** implicitly means “summon” and the word **answer** implicitly means “obey.” You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “I summon my servant, but he does not obey and come to me”
19:16 j564 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun to my servant 1 Job is not referring to a specific **servant**. He means all of his servants. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “to my servants”
19:16 hds8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy with my mouth I entreat him 1 Job is using the term **mouth** to mean by association what he has to say with his mouth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I have to speak pleadingly to him”
19:17 dgg7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche My breath is strange to my wife 1 This could mean: (1) that Job is using one part of himself, his **breath**, to mean all of himself. In verses 13–19, Job is talking about how all of his friends and relatives now treat him as if they did not know him. In verses 13 and 15, Job uses words related to the word that the ULT translates as **strange** in this verse. Alternate translation: “I am like a stranger to my wife” (2) that Job is referring literally to his **breath** and saying that because of his sickness, it smells bad and is offensive to his wife. Alternate translation: “Because of my sickness, my breath smells bad and is offensive to my wife”
19:17 ufr3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession though I was gracious to the sons of my womb 1 Job could be using the possessive form **of my womb** to mean: (1) the womb of his wife. Job would be speaking of the children that they had together. Alternate translation: “even though we had children together and I treated them kindly” (2) the womb of his mother. Job would be speaking of his siblings, probably meaning his close relatives as in verse 13, and he would be using a different root, with the same letters as the root that means “to be gracious,” that means “to be loathsome.” Alternate translation: “and I am loathsome to my close relatives”
19:18 fp7g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit let me arise, and they speak against me 1 This could mean implicitly: (1) that when Job stands up to speak, younger people who should listen respectfully (see [32:6–7](../32/06.md)) contradict him instead. Alternate translation: “when I stand up to speak, younger people disrespectfully contradict me” (2) that when Job tries to stand up, struggling because of his sickness, children make fun of him. Alternate translation: “when I struggle to stand up, they make fun of me”
19:19 uf7f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession the friends of my counsel 1 Job is using this possessive form to describe the **friends** with whom he took **counsel**, that is, the friends with whom he shared his private thoughts and whose advice he asked. Alternate translation: “the friends in whom I confided”
19:19 t7hn rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive have been turned against me 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “have turned against me”
19:20 j565 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh 1 Job is not referring to a specific **bone**. He means all of his bones. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh”
19:20 lt45 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh 1 Job is speaking of this representative **bone** as if it were living thing that could **cling** to his **skin** and **flesh**. He means that his bones are right next to his skin and flesh, that is, all of the muscle in between has wasted away. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I am just skin and bones”
19:20 ud4z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and I have escaped with the skin of my teeth 1 Job is speaking as if he had barely **escaped** from some disaster and he is describing what little he was able to escape with. He could mean: (1) that the **skin of his teeth**, that is, his gums, are the only part of his skin that his disease is not affecting. Alternate translation: “and my gums are the only part of my skin that my disease is not affecting” (2) that his teeth have fallen out so that only his gums are left. Alternate translation: “and all my teeth have fallen out”
19:21 ux63 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-reduplication Pity me, pity me 1 Job is repeating the verb **Pity** in order to intensify the idea that it expresses. If your language can repeat words for intensification, it would be appropriate to do that here in your translation. If not, your language may have another way of expressing the emphasis. Alternate translation: “Please have pity on me”
19:21 tbg5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy the hand of God has touched me 1 Here the **hand of God** represents the power and activity of God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “God is powerfully afflicting me”
19:22 g28h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Why do you pursue me as God {would}? And will you not be satisfied with my flesh? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: “You should not pursue me as God would! You should be satisfied with my flesh!”
19:22 c296 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile Why do you pursue me as God {would} 1 The point of this comparison is that just as God would **pursue** someone relentlessly to make sure that sin was punished appropriately, so Job’s friends have been relentlessly insisting that he has sinned. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “Why do you insist relentlessly that I have sinned” or, as a statement, “You should not insist relentlessly that I have sinned”
19:22 y17f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom And will you not be satisfied with my flesh 1 Job is likely alluding to a popular expression. In this culture, if someone accused another person maliciously, people said that he was “eating the pieces” of that person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “And will you never stop accusing me maliciously” or, as a statement, “yes, you should stop accusing me so maliciously”
19:23 r9n7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom Who will give {that} now my words will be written down? Who will give {that} they will be inscribed on a scroll? 1 See how you translated the expression **Who will give** in [11:5–6](../11/05.md). Alternate translation: “I wish that my words would now be written down! I wish that they would be inscribed on a scroll!”
19:23 j566 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit Who will give {that} now my words will be written down? Who will give {that} they will be inscribed on a scroll? 1 In context, Job is suggesting that this is actually unlikely, even though he wishes that it could happen. You could indicate this in your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “It is unfortunate that my words cannot be written down. It is unfortunate that they cannot be inscribed on a scroll”
19:23 j567 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive my words will be written down 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “someone will write down my words”
19:23 llm4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy my words 1 Job is using the term **words** to mean what he has been saying by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “what I have been saying”
19:23 ti7g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor they will be inscribed on a scroll 1 Job is speaking as if he wanted his **words** literally to be **inscribed** or engraved on a **scroll**. He could mean: (1) that he wants someone to record them meticulously on a scroll. Alternate translation: “they will be recorded on a scroll” (2) that he wants someone to engrave them onto a copper sheet. Alternate translation: “they will be inscribed on a copper sheet”
19:23 j568 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive they will be inscribed 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “someone will inscribe them”
19:24 gz9c rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown With a stylus of iron 1 A **stylus** was an iron tool that people in this culture used to engrave writing onto hard surfaces. They would strike the stylus with another tool such as a hammer in order to remove tiny pieces of the surface a little at a time in order to create letters. For better visibility, they would sometimes then fill these letters with lead, which is a soft metal that they could pound into shape. If your readers would not be familiar with what a stylus is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “With a small iron tool cutting tool”
19:25 j569 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-logic-contrast But 1 Job is using the word translated **But** to draw a contrast between what he has just suggested is unlikely, that his claims of innocence will be recorded for posterity, and something that he is very confident about, that his **redeemer** will ultimately vindicate him as innocent. In your translation, you may wish to introduce this verse in a way that will indicate this contrast more explicitly. Alternate translation: “But even though it is unlikely that my claims of innocence will be recorded for posterity,”
19:25 j570 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns I know {that} 1 For emphasis, Job is stating the pronoun **I**, whose meaning is already present in the word translated **know**. If your language can state implied pronouns explicitly for emphasis, you may want to use that construction here in your translation. Other languages may have other ways of bringing out this emphasis. Alternate translation: “I know very well {that}”
19:25 j571 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit my redeemer lives 1 Job means implicitly that even though he expects to die, his **redeemer** will still be alive to vindicate him. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “even though I expect to die soon, my redeemer will still be alive”
19:25 q57z rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown my redeemer 1 A **redeemer** was a close relative who would take responsibility to do whatever was necessary to help another family member who was threatened or in need. Your language and culture may have a name for a person who fulfills this role, and you could use that name in your translation. You could also use a general expression. Alternate translation: “the close relative who will vindicate me”
19:25 j573 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-extrainfo my redeemer 1 As Job indicates in the next verse, he believes that God will be his **redeemer**. This is similar to the way that Job speaks in [16:19](../16/19.md) of having an “advocate” in heaven and to the way that he asks God in [17:3](../17/03.md) to be his “surety.” Since Job speaks of God in the next verse, you do not need to explain in this verse that God is the **redeemer** whom Job is expecting. It may even be that Job wishes to generate some suspense and attention by not naming the redeemer right away, and it would be good to give your readers that same experience.
19:25 j574 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj at the last 1 Job is using the adjective **last** as a noun to mean a certain time. This could mean: (1) a “later” time, after Job has died. Alternate translation: “after I have died” (2) that Job is the “last” time, the time at the end of the world. Alternate translation: “at the end of the world”
19:25 yy3q rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction he will stand 1 In this culture, people stood up when they were about to speak. This was a symbolic action by which they indicated that they had something important to say and commanded the attention of the people they wanted to listen to them. In this context, the important thing that the redeemer had to say would be that Job was innocent. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “he will stand and speak in my defense”
19:25 j575 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy upon the dust 1 Job is using the term **dust** by association to mean the earth, on whose surface there is dust. This may also be a poetic allusion to the fact that Job would be dead and at “rest” in the “dust,” as he said in [17:16](../17/16.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “upon the earth”
19:26 j576 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns and {that} after my skin, they strike this off 1 The pronoun **they** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “and that after my skin has been stricken off”
19:26 t5gt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and {that} after my skin, they strike this off 1 Job is speaking as if someone or something might literally **strike** the **skin** off his bones. He could mean: (1) that his body will decay so that only the bones are left. Alternate translation: “and that even after my body decays so that only the bones are left” (2) that worms, such as he mentioned in [17:14](../17/14.md), will eat the skin off his bones. Alternate translation: “and that even after worms eat the skin off my bones”
19:26 j577 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit from my flesh 1 Job could be saying that he will **behold God**: (1) from the vantage point of his flesh, that is, from within his body. This would be an implicit expression of faith and confidence in the resurrection of the body. Alternate translation: “from within my resurrected body” (2) apart from his flesh, that is, as a spirit after death. Alternate translation: “as a spirit after death”
19:26 p2pl rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit I will behold God 1 As the General Notes to chapter 13 discuss, in this culture, a subject would be able to look a sovereign in the face if the sovereign favored that subject. Job seems to be alluding here to that cultural norm. The implication is that God will no longer consider him guilty but acknowledge that he was innocent all along. Job indicates in the previous verse that God will also acknowledge his innocence publicly to everyone on earth. Alternate translation: “I will be able to look God in the face because he will affirm that I am innocent”
19:27 j578 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism I will behold for myself and my eyes will see 1 These two phrases mean similar things. Job is using repetition to emphasize the idea that the phrases express. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine them. Alternate translation: “I myself will see very clearly”
19:27 j579 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns I will behold 1 For emphasis, Job is stating the pronoun **I**, whose meaning is already present in the verb translated **will behold**. If your language can state implied pronouns explicitly for emphasis, you may want to use that construction here in your translation. Other languages may have other ways of bringing out this emphasis. Alternate translation: “I will certainly behold”
19:27 m1wt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche and my eyes will see 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **eyes**, to mean all of him in the act of seeing. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “and see with my own eyes”
19:27 k566 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis and not a stranger 1 Job is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. In this context, the word **stranger** means “someone else.” But it is also an allusion to what Job said in verse 15, that people who knew him now regard him as a “stranger.” Alternate translation: “and it will not be someone else who beholds him”
19:27 c3pc rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor My kidneys fail within my belly 1 Here, the **kidneys** figuratively represents the emotions. Job is saying that he is overcome with emotion at the thought of seeing God. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I am overcome with emotion at this thought”
19:28 np8p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes If you say, ‘How we will persecute him! For the root of the matter is found in me,’ 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “If you say that you are still going to persecute me because you believe that the root of the matter is found in me”
19:28 j580 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular you say 1 The word **you** is plural here because Job is addressing his three friends, so use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
19:28 ddd3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor the root of the matter 1 Job is saying that his friends might speak as if his situation were literally a plant that had a **root**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the cause of the problem”
19:28 j581 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person in me 1 Job seems to begin this hypothetical saying of the three friends as a direct quotation but finish it as an indirect quotation, saying **in me** rather than “in him.” It may be more natural in your language to finish the quotation as a direct quotation. Alternate translation: “in him”
19:29 j582 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy of the face of the sword 1 Here the word **face** represents the presence of someone or something by association with the way people can see the face of someone who is present. Alternate translation: “of the presence of the sword”
19:29 tw35 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche of the face of the sword 1 Job is using one kind of severe punishment, execution by a **sword**, to mean severe punishment in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “that God may punish you severely”
19:29 t8gg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns {from} wrath {is} the punishment of the sword 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **wrath**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “when God becomes angry at people for being wicked, God punishes them severely”
19:29 n1i1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns {there is} judgment 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **judgment**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “that God punishes wickedness justly”
20:intro p78g 0 # Job 20 General Notes\n\n## Structure and formatting\n\n This chapter is the second speech of Job’s friend Zophar. In this chapter, Zophar speaks more strongly to Job than he did the first time spoke to him.\n\nThe ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is poetry.\n\nTranslation Issues in This Chapter\n\n### Zophar answering Job with his own words\n\nIn [7:8](../07/08.md), as Job was appealing to God, he said, “The eye of the one seeing me will not regard me; your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.” Zophar says in [20:9](../20/09.md) about the wicked person, “The eye that saw him will not continue.” Job said in [7:10](../01/01.md) of himself as a mortal person, “He will not return again to his house, and his place will not know him again.” Zophar says of the wicked person in [20:9](../01/01.md), “his place will no longer observe him.” In both instances Zophar is suggesting that Job himself is a wicked person, using Job’s own words.\n\nSimilarly, Zophar says in [20:27](../20/27.md) of the wicked person that “the heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will raise itself up against him” as a witness. In [16:18](../16/18.md), Job called upon the earth to see that he received justice, and in [16:19](../16/19.md), Job said that he had an advocate in the heavens. So Zophar is likely answering Job once again in his own words, implying that Job himself is a wicked person of the type that he has been describing in his speech.\n\nTo help your readers appreciate how Zophar is answering Job with his own words, you may wish to translate what Zophar says in these instances similarly to the way you translated what Job said earlier.\n\n### Indelicate Images that Zophar Uses\n\nAs noted above, Zophar speaks strongly to Job in this speech. He uses a couple of images drawn from bodily functions that people in your culture might consider it indelicate to include in a Bible translation. If so, you could use comparable images. Zophar says in [20:7](../20/07.md) of the wicked person, “he will perish forever like his dung.” You could refer to something else that disappears completely, saying, for example, “he will perish forever like the dust that the wind blows away.” Zophar says of the wicked person in [20:15](../20/15.md), “He swallows wealth, but he will vomit it.” You might say instead something such as, “Though he may become rich, he will lose all his money.”
20:2 j583 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-words-phrases Therefore 1 Zophar is using the word **Therefore** to introduce the reason he is about to give for why he is speaking to Job again. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “This is why”
20:2 eef1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification my thoughts turn me back 1 Zophar is speaking of his **thoughts** as if they were a living thing that could **turn** him **back**, that is, make him turn around and return to Job as if he had left him. He means that he wants to speak to Job again and share what he is thinking in response to what Job has just said. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I need to speak to you again and tell you what I am thinking”
20:2 wy6h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicitinfo because of my urgency in me 1 It might seem that this expression contains extra information that would be unnatural to express in your language. If so, you can shorten it. Alternate translation: “because I feel such urgency”
20:3 m5c5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession a rebuke of dishonor to me 1 Zophar is using this possessive form to describe a **rebuke** that he feels has brought **dishonor** to him. It may be helpful clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “a rebuke that dishonors me”
20:3 pk2s rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification but a spirit from my understanding answers me 1 Zophar is speaking as if there were a **spirit** in his **understanding** that could **answer** him, that is, show him how to respond to Job. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but I have had a good idea that enables me to understand how I should respond”
20:4 um5p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Do you {not} know this from long ago, from the placing of man upon the earth 1 Zophar is using the question form for emphasis. (The question continues into the next verse.) If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “Surely you are aware of this from long ago, from the placing of man upon the earth”
20:4 j584 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche Do you {not} know this from long ago, from the placing of man upon the earth 1 Zophar is speaking as if Job himself should have known **from long ago** what he is about to say. He means that Job is one member of the human community that has known this for as long as it has existed and that as a member of that community, Job should know it because it has been passed down to him through traditional wisdom. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Surely you are aware of this traditional wisdom that we have received from our earliest ancestors”
20:4 j585 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche from the placing of man upon the earth 1 Zophar is using one thing that God did when he created people, **placing** them on the **earth**, to mean all that God did in creating people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “ever since God created man”
20:4 j586 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations from the placing of man upon the earth 1 Although the term **man** is masculine, Zophar is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “ever since God created people”
20:5 nhc5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion that the triumph of the wicked {is} from near, and the joy of the godless {is} for a moment? 1 In this verse, Zophar completes the question that he began in the previous verse, using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “that the triumph of the wicked {is} from near, and the joy of the godless {is} for a moment!”
20:5 ubq8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj the wicked 1 Zophar is using the adjective **wicked**, which is plural, as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
20:5 j587 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom {is} from near 1 Zophar is using this expression to mean that the **triumph** of the **wicked** does not extend very far, and he means that it does not extend in time rather than in space. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “does not last very long”
20:5 u62f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj the godless 1 Job is using the adjective **godless**, which is singular, as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “the godless person”
20:5 j588 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun the godless 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **godless** person. He means all godless people. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “godless people”
20:6 v8z8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor Though his height rises to the skies and his head reaches to the cloud 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person might literally become so tall that his head would be at the same level as **cloud** in the **skies**. He means that a wicked person might become very prosperous and powerful. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Though a wicked person may become very prosperous and powerful”
20:6 by93 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun to the cloud 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **cloud**. He means the many clouds that appear in the sky. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “to the clouds”
20:7 b9xv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile like his dung 1 The point of this comparison may be the one that Zophar makes explicitly, that a wicked person will perish **forever** as **dung** perishes forever. However, the point of the comparison could also be that just as people consider **dung** a loathsome substance and dispose of it, people will consider a wicked person to be loathsome and not commemorate him in any way. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “and no on will commemorate him, because they consider him so loathsome”
20:7 sfs4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes will say, ‘Where {is he}?’ 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “will ask where he has gone”
20:7 j589 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion Where {is he}? 1 The people who are asking about the wicked person are using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “He is gone completely!”
20:8 rep3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He will fly away 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally **fly away**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will vanish”
20:8 j590 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile like a dream 1 The point of this comparison is that just as when a **dream** ends, the person who had the dream realizes that it was not real, so it will be as if the wicked person had never existed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “as if he had never existed”
20:8 byk9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns and they will not find him 1 **They** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “and no one will be able to find him”
20:8 j591 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive and he will be chased away 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “he will flee”
20:8 j592 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He will fly away 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally **be chased away** or flee. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will disappear”
20:9 xu8t rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche The eye {that} saw him will not continue 1 Zophar is using one part of a person, his **eye**, to mean all of that person in the act of seeing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Anyone who previously saw him will not continue to see him”
20:9 x7cu rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification and his place will no longer observe him 1 As Job did in [7:10](../07/10.md), Zophar is speaking here of a person’s **place** of residence as if it were a living thing that could **observe** that person. The idea is that the place where the person once lived will not have occasion to observe him again because he will never return to that place. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will no longer live in his former place of residence”
20:10 v5ee rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-infostructure His children will recompense the poor, and his hands will return his wealth 1 You may find it more natural to put the information about what a wicked person will have to do while he is still alive before the information about what his children will have to do after he dies. Alternate translation: “His hands will return his wealth, and his children will recompense the poor”
20:10 lji7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche and his hands will return his wealth 1 Zophar is using one part of a wicked person, his **hands**, to mean all of him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will return his wealth”
20:10 j593 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit and his hands will return his wealth 1 The implication is that this is **wealth** that a wicked person obtained fraudulently or by oppression and that he has been required to **return**. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “and he will have to return the wealth that he obtained fraudulently and by oppression”
20:11 re6y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche His bones are full 1 Zophar is using one part of a wicked person, his **bones**, to mean his whole body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “His body is full”
20:11 je7r rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism but it will lie down with him in the dust 1 Zophar is using the phrase **lie down … in the dust** to mean “die.” This is a poetic way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “but it will die with him”
20:11 j594 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification but it will lie down with him in the dust 1 Zophar is speaking of the **vigor** of a wicked person as if it were a living thing that could **lie down in the dust** or die. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but he will die while he is still young and strong”
20:12 w36z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor wickedness is sweet in his mouth 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person could literally put **wickedness** in his **mouth** and taste it and find it **sweet**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he enjoys wickedness”
20:12 j595 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns wickedness is sweet in his mouth 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **wickedness**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “wicked things are sweet in his mouth” or “he enjoys doing wicked things”
20:12 nj4p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor he hides it under his tongue 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person might hide wickedness **under his tongue**. The image is of a person tucking something sweet under his tongue to make it last longer so that he can savor it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he savors it” or “he savors doing wicked things”
20:13 d1n2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor he has pity on it and does not forsake it 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally have **pity** on wickedness and **not forsake it**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he is reluctant to let it go” or “he is reluctant to stop doing wicked things”
20:13 j596 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor but keeps it in the midst of his palate 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally hold wickedness against the roof of his mouth so that he could savor it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but continues to savor it” or “but continues to savor doing them”
20:14 n7jw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor his food changes in his bowels; {it becomes} the bitterness of asps inside him 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person literally eats wickedness and that it turns into **the bitterness of asps** (that is, the poison of those snakes) when he starts to digest it. Zophar means, within the context of the image, that the wicked person gets a painfully upset stomach. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the consequences of his wicked actions turn out to be very unpleasant and he suffers greatly from them”
20:14 lnj1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown the bitterness of asps 1 The term **asps** describes a certain type of poisonous snake. If this snake, or snakes in general, would not be familiar to your readers, you could use a general term. Alternate translation: “snake poison” or “reptile poison”
20:15 hs62 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He swallows wealth, but he will vomit it; God will expel it from his belly. 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally swallow **wealth** but then **vomit** it back up again, and as if God would literally **expel it** or force it out of **his belly**, presumably by causing him to vomit. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He is greedy to become rich, but he will lose all his money; God will cause him to lose it”
20:16 l7yk rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He will suck the poison of asps 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally **suck** the **poison of asps**. This could mean: (1) that Zophar is alluding to the images in verses 12 and 13 of a wicked person savoring wickedness as if it were something he held under his tongue or against the roof of his mouth. Zophar would be saying that the delicacy that the wicked person savors or sucks turns out to be poison, meaning something that will kill him. Alternate translation: “In the end, the wickedness that he savors will kill him” (2) that an asp will bite the wicked person and he will absorb its **poison** as if he had sucked it in. This would be a more general statement. Alternate translation: “Something deadly will destroy him”
20:16 m2pa rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy the tongue of the viper will kill him 1 Zophar may be reflecting a belief of his culture that the forked tongue of a snake was sharp and that snakes injected poison into people and animals by piercing them with their tongues. If Zophar understood, as people today now understand, that snakes inject their poison through their fangs after biting their victims, then Zophar would be using the term **tongue** by association to mean the mouth and thus the fangs. Alternate translation: “the fangs of the viper will kill him” or “a viper will kill him by biting him and injecting him with poison through his fangs”
20:16 dg2b rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown asps & the viper 1 See how you translated the word “asps” in in [20:14](../20/14.md). A **viper** is another kind of poisonous snake If these snakes, or snakes in general, would not be familiar to your readers, you could use general terms. Alternate translation: “snakes … the poisonous snake” or “reptiles … the poisonous reptile”
20:16 rf6c rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun the viper 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **viper**. He means one that might bite a wicked person. Alternate translation: “a viper”
20:17 j597 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet the streams, the rivers of torrents of 1 The terms **streams**, **rivers**, and **torrents** mean similar things. Zophar is using the three terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: “the deeply flowing streams of”
20:17 nb52 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor the streams, the rivers of torrents of honey and butter 1 Zophar is speaking as if **streams**, **rivers**, and **torrents** could literally flow with **honey** and **butter**. He is referring to the abundant quantities of these things with which God would bless a righteous person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the abundant quantities of honey and butter with which God blesses righteous people”
20:17 w9e5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche the streams, the rivers of torrents of honey and butter 1 Zophar is using two agricultural products, **honey** and **butter**, to mean agricultural products in general and thus, in this culture, wealth in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the abundant wealth with which God blesses righteous people”
20:18 th8a rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit his gain 1 It is clear from the next verse, as well as from v. 10, that by **gain** here, Zophar implicitly means money that a wicked person has made by dishonest means. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “his ill-gotten gain”
20:19 j598 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj the poor 1 Zophar is using the adjective **poor** as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “poor people”
20:19 j599 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-doublenegatives and he did not build it 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this as a positive expression. Alternate translation: “that someone else built” or “that belonged to someone else”
20:20 j600 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor he has not known satisfaction in his belly 1 Here, the **belly** or stomach represents a person’s desires, and specifically in this context greedy desires. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he has not experienced the satisfaction of his greedy desires”
20:20 j601 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns he has not known satisfaction in his belly 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **satisfaction**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “he could never satisfy his greedy desires”
20:20 j602 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj he will not rescue {any} desired {thing} of his 1 Zophar is using the adjective **desired** as a noun to mean a certain kind of thing. The ULT adds the word **thing** to show that. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “he will not rescue any of the things that he desired”
20:20 zi35 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-doublenegatives he will not rescue {any} desired {thing} of his 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this with a positive expression. Alternate translation: “he will lose all of the things that he desired”
20:21 e2vt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit There is no remnant for his eating 1 This could mean implicitly: (1) Alternate translation: “There is nothing left after he has eaten” (2) Alternate translation: “There is nothing left for him to eat”
20:22 j603 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor In the filling of his wealth 1 Zophar is speaking of the **wealth** of a wicked person as if he were a container that could become full. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Even if he becomes very wealthy,”
20:22 k3n2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom it will become narrow to him 1 Zophar is using this expression to mean that the wicked person will experience great distress. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “he will be in dire straits” or “he will experience great distress”
20:22 j604 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj every hand of the troubling will come against him 1 Zophar is using the adjective **troubling** as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “the hand of every person who causes trouble will come against him”
20:22 tq3y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy every hand of the troubling will come against him 1 Here, **hand** represents the power and activity of a person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “every person who causes trouble will work against him”
20:22 j605 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole every hand of the troubling will come against him 1 Zophar says **every** here as a generalization for emphasis. If it would be clearer in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: “people who cause trouble will work against him”
20:23 j606 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns He will be {about} to fill his belly, he will send the burning of his nose against him, and he will rain {it} upon him in his eating. 1 The pronoun **He** at the start of this verse, the two instances of **him**, and the second instance of **his** refer to the wicked person, while the two instances of **he** later in the verse and the first instance of **his** refer to God. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “The wicked person will be about to fill his belly, and God will send the burning of his nose against that wicked person, yes, God will rain it upon that person while that person is eating”
20:23 i6l2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and he will rain {it} upon him 1 Zophar is speaking as if God would literally make his anger **rain** on a wicked person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, he will punish him severely”
20:23 d4yy rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit in his eating 1 Interpreters are not certain what Zophar means by this expression. It could mean: (1) Alternate translation: “while he is eating” (2) Alternate translation: “upon his flesh” or “upon his body” (3) Alternate translation: “with his arrows” or “with his weapons”
20:24 x5uw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He flees from a weapon of iron, a bow of bronze pierces him 1 Zophar is speaking as if different soldiers were using a **weapon of iron** and a **bow of bronze** to attack the wicked person he is describing. Zophar is using these weapons to represent dangers. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He may escape from one danger, but another danger will overtake him”
20:24 kj9m rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit He flees from a weapon of iron, a bow of bronze pierces him 1 Since a **bow of bronze** is a more powerful and deadly weapon than a **weapon of iron** such as a sword or spear, Zophar implicitly means that if a wicked person escapes from one danger, a greater danger will overtake him. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “He may escape from one danger, but a greater danger will overtake him”
20:24 j607 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy a bow of bronze 1 Zophar is using the term **bow** by association to mean an arrow from a bow. If you decide to retain this image in your translation, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “an arrow that someone shoots using a bronze bow”
20:25 j608 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor He pulls, and it comes out of his back, and the gleaming goes out of his liver. Terrors {are} upon him 1 Zophar is continuing to speak as if someone had shot an arrow into the wicked person he is describing. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “The wicked person realizes that the danger that has overtaken him is going to destroy him”
20:25 j609 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy the gleaming 1 Zophar is using the term **gleaming** by association to mean an arrow whose metal point gleams in the sunlight. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the arrow”
20:25 puf6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural Terrors {are} upon him 1 Zophar could be using the plural form, **Terrors**, in an intensive sense to mean the worst of terrors, that is, death, as in [18:14](../18/14.md). Alternate translation: “He is terrified because he realizes that he is going to die”
20:26 w5yg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole All darkness is hidden 1 Zophar says **all** here as a generalization for emphasis. If it would be clearer in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: “Great darkness is hidden”
20:26 j610 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor All darkness is hidden 1 Zophar is using the term **darkness** to represent troubles. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Great troubles are hidden”
20:26 j611 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive All darkness is hidden 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who has done the action, the context suggests that it is God. Alternate translation: “God has hidden great troubles”
20:26 j612 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor All darkness is hidden 1 Zophar is speaking as if God had literally **hidden** darkness, representing troubles. He could mean: (1) that God has reserved those troubles to destroy the treasured possessions of the wicked person he is describing. Alternate translation: “God has reserved great troubles” (2) that it is as if those troubles were an animal that had **hidden** itself so that it could pounce on the possessions of the wicked person. Alternate translation: “Great troubles are lying in wait”
20:26 j613 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive for his treasured things 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “for the things that he treasures”
20:26 syj5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive a fire not blown will devour him 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “a fire that no one has blown on to kindle will devour him”
20:26 w47r rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit a fire not blown will devour him 1 The implication is that no human being will have **blown** on this **fire** to kindle it; God will send the fire. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “A fire that God sends will devour him” or “God will send fire that will devour him”
20:26 qsw9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor a fire not blown will devour him 1 Zophar is speaking as if **fire** were literally going to **devour** or eat up this wicked person. Within the context of the image, he means that the fire will burn him up, and the image of fire itself represents God destroying the wicked person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “God will destroy him”
20:26 j614 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor it will consume the remnant in his tent 1 Zophar is continuing to speak as if **fire** were literally going to **consume** this wicked person and his possessions. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, God will completely destroy everything in his tent, leaving nothing”
20:26 j615 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy it will consume the remnant in his tent 1 Zophar is using one possession of this wicked person, the **tent** in which he lives, to mean all of his possessions. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, God will completely destroy all of his possessions, leaving nothing”
20:27 v1vg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will raise itself up against him. 1 Zophar is speaking as if the **heavens** and the **earth** were living things that could testify against this wicked person. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “If the sky could speak, it would testify that it had observed his iniquity; if the earth could speak, it would raise itself up against him”
20:27 j616 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction and the earth will raise itself up against him 1 Zophar means that the earth would **raise itself up**, that is, stand up, against this wicked person as a symbolic action to indicate that it had something important to say. In this context, the important thing that the earth had to say would be that the wicked person was guilty. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “and the earth will stand and be a witness against him”
20:28 j617 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification The wealth of his house will depart 1 Zophar is speaking of the **wealth** that the wicked person has in his **house** as if it were a living thing that could **depart**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will lose the wealth that is in his house”
20:28 j618 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor flowing away 1 Zophar is speaking as if the wicked person’s **wealth** were a liquid that could literally be **flowing away**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “vanishing” or “being destroyed”
20:28 j620 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom on the day of his nose 1 While God would punish the wicked person on a specific **day**, Zophar is using the term **day** to refer to a specific time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “at the time when God angrily punishes him”
20:29 j621 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor This {is} the portion of the wicked man from God, the heritage of his appointment from God 1 Zophar is speaking as if were literally giving a **wicked man** a **portion**, probably meaning a portion of family property, and a **heritage**, similarly meaning an inheritance. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “This is the punishment that the wicked man deserves, and God will punish him in that way”
20:29 j622 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations the wicked man 1 Although the term **man** is masculine, Zophar is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “the wicked person”
20:29 j623 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun the wicked man 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **wicked man** or person. He means wicked people in general. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
20:29 j624 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession the heritage of his appointment from God 1 Zophar is using this possessive form to describe a symbolic **heritage** or inheritance that God has appointed to a wicked person. It may be helpful clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “his appointed heritage from God” or “the heritage that God has appointed to him”
19:2 xxa9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion עַד־אָ֭נָה תּוֹגְי֣וּ⁠ן נַפְשִׁ֑⁠י וּֽ⁠תְדַכְּאוּ⁠נַ֥נִי בְ⁠מִלִּֽים 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “You have afflicted my soul and crushed me with words for long enough!”
19:2 j556 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular תּוֹגְי֣וּ⁠ן & וּֽ⁠תְדַכְּאוּ⁠נַ֥נִי 1 The word **you** is plural here and through verse 5 because Job is addressing his three friends, so use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
19:2 j557 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche נַפְשִׁ֑⁠י 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **soul**, to mean all of him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “me”
19:2 r3lw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וּֽ⁠תְדַכְּאוּ⁠נַ֥נִי בְ⁠מִלִּֽים 1 Job is speaking as if his friends could literally **crush** him with their **words**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and discourage me deeply with your words”
19:2 j558 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy בְ⁠מִלִּֽים 1 Job is using the term **words** to mean what his friends have been saying by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “by what you have been saying”
19:3 k4th rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom עֶ֣שֶׂר פְּ֭עָמִים 1 The expression **ten times** means “many times,” not literally ten times, no more and no less. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “many times”
19:3 uy8e rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-sentences לֹֽא־תֵ֝בֹ֗שׁוּ תַּהְכְּרוּ־לִֽ⁠י 1 In this sentence structure, the verb **mistreat** is dependent on the verb **ashamed**. It may be more natural in your language to use a different sentence structure. Alternate translation: “you are not ashamed to mistreat me”
19:4 bfn1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit אִ֝תִּ֗⁠י תָּלִ֥ין מְשׁוּגָתִֽ⁠י 1 Interpreters are not certain what Job means by this statement. He could mean: (1) that any sin he might have committed would be his own private concern. This would be consistent with his rebuke of his friends for reproaching him publicly as a sinner. Alternate translation: “that would be my own private concern” (2) that he would be the only one who would know for sure whether he had sinned. Alternate translation: “that would be for me to determine”
19:5 z7gm rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit עָלַ֣⁠י תַּגְדִּ֑ילוּ וְ⁠תוֹכִ֥יחוּ עָ֝לַ֗⁠י חֶרְפָּתִּֽ⁠י 1 See how you translated the similar use of the term **exalt** in [17:4](../17/04.md). Alternate translation: “you want to prove that you are right and I am wrong by appealing to the way that I am suffering”
19:6 gb9h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וּ֝⁠מְצוּד֗⁠וֹ עָלַ֥⁠י הִקִּֽיף 1 Job is speaking as if a **net** that God had set as a trap had literally **closed around** him. Job is answering Bildad in his own words, but Job is making the net a symbol of the unjust punishment of the innocent rather than of the just punishment of the wicked. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, he has unfairly punished me even though I am innocent”
19:7 zyg9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom אֶצְעַ֣ק חָ֭מָס 1 The expression **Violence!** refers generally to mistreatment, including but not limited to actual violence. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I cry, ‘Someone is mistreating me’”
19:7 j559 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes אֶצְעַ֣ק חָ֭מָס 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “I protest that someone is mistreating me”
19:7 j560 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive וְ⁠לֹ֣א אֵעָנֶ֑ה 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “but no one answers me”
19:7 i4w8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns וְ⁠אֵ֣ין מִשְׁפָּֽט 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **justice**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “but no one ensures that I am treated justly”
19:8 dpr7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor אָרְחִ֣⁠י גָ֭דַר וְ⁠לֹ֣א אֶעֱב֑וֹר 1 Job is speaking of his life as if it were a **way** or path that he was walking along, and he is speaking as if God had built a wall to block that path so that he could not continue on it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. See how you translated the similar image in [3:23](../03/23.md). Alternate translation: “God has kept me from being able to overcome my troubles and resume my regular life”
19:8 ly9g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ⁠עַ֥ל נְ֝תִיבוֹתַ֗⁠י חֹ֣שֶׁךְ יָשִֽׂים 1 In a parallel image, Job is speaking of his activities as if they were **paths** on which he was walking, and he is speaking as if God had made it so dark on those paths that he could not walk on them because he could not see where he was going. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, God has prevented me from knowing the right things to do”
19:9 hjr9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor כְּ֭בוֹדִ⁠י מֵ⁠עָלַ֣⁠י הִפְשִׁ֑יט 1 Job is speaking as if the **glory** or honor that he formerly had were literally an article of clothing that God had **stripped** from him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He has taken away the honor that I formerly had”
19:9 rf7s rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וַ֝⁠יָּ֗סַר עֲטֶ֣רֶת רֹאשִֽׁ⁠י 1 Job is speaking as if he had formerly been wearing an actual **crown**, a symbol of ruling authority, and that God had **removed** that crown from his **head**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, he has deprived me of the authority I once had”
19:9 j561 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession עֲטֶ֣רֶת רֹאשִֽׁ⁠י 1 Job is using this possessive form to speak symbolically of a crown that he once wore on his head. In the context, the phrase **the crown of my head** does not mean the very top of Job’s head. Alternate translation: “the crown that I once wore on my head”
19:10 tiq1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יִתְּצֵ֣⁠נִי סָ֭בִיב 1 Job is speaking as he were literally a building and God had **broken** him **down** completely. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He has destroyed everything in my life”
19:10 r4pd rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וָ⁠אֵלַ֑ךְ 1 Job is speaking as if he has literally **gone away** or left the area where he was formerly living. See how you translated the similar expression in [14:20](../14/20.md). If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Job is speaking of what he expects to happen imminently as if it had already happened. Alternate translation: “and I am about to die”
19:10 jd8w rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile וַ⁠יַּסַּ֥ע כָּ֝⁠עֵ֗ץ תִּקְוָתִֽ⁠י 1 Job is using this comparison to say that just as a tree will not grow again once it has been completely uprooted, so he believes that God has taken away his hope forever. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “and he has taken away my hope forever, just as an uprooted tree will never grow back”
19:10 v64y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns וַ⁠יַּסַּ֥ע כָּ֝⁠עֵ֗ץ תִּקְוָתִֽ⁠י 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **hope**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “and he has kept me from ever hoping again, just as an uprooted tree will never grow back”
19:11 p3my rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וַ⁠יַּ֣חַר עָלַ֣⁠י אַפּ֑⁠וֹ 1 Job is speaking as if God had literally **kindled** his anger or set it on fire. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “And he has allowed himself to become very angry with me”
19:12 wkz6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יַ֤חַד ׀ יָ֘בֹ֤אוּ גְדוּדָ֗י⁠ו וַ⁠יָּסֹ֣לּוּ עָלַ֣⁠י דַּרְכָּ֑⁠ם וַ⁠יַּחֲנ֖וּ סָבִ֣יב לְ⁠אָהֳלִֽ⁠י 1 Job is speaking as if he were literally a city and God had sent **troops** to lay siege to that city, building **ramps** by which they could get over its walls. Job is likely speaking of the troubles he is experiencing as if they were soldiers whom God had sent to attack him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “God has made me experience many kinds of troubles, and they are causing me more and more distress”
19:12 fg89 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וַ⁠יַּחֲנ֖וּ סָבִ֣יב לְ⁠אָהֳלִֽ⁠י 1 Job continues the military image but changes it slightly when he speaks as if he were literally a **tent** around which an enemy army had encamped. Job may be picturing himself as one of a number of soldiers who are all staying in tents but whose camp an enemy army has surrounded. Or Job may be using the word **tent** simply to mean the place where he lives, that is, his life. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, I am experiencing troubles in many different aspects of my life”
19:13 zk2b rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor אַ֭חַ⁠י מֵ⁠עָלַ֣⁠י הִרְחִ֑יק 1 Job is speaking as God had removed his **brothers** to a distance from him. Job is actually speaking of the diminished quality of the relationship he now has with them. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He has caused my brothers to withdraw from me”
19:13 j563 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom אַ֭חַ⁠י 1 Job is probably using the word **brothers** to mean close relatives, both male and female, who may not literally be his siblings. Your language may use that word or an equivalent term in the same way. If not, you could express the meaning in plain language. Alternate translation: “my close relatives”
19:13 iv61 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ֝⁠יֹדְעַ֗⁠י אַךְ־זָ֥רוּ מִמֶּֽ⁠נִּי 1 Job is speaking as if his **acquaintances** had literally **turned away** from him, that is, turned to face in another direction so that they could not see him or turned and walked away from him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and my acquaintances now act as if they do not even know me”
19:14 l2e7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וּֽ⁠מְיֻדָּעַ֥⁠י שְׁכֵחֽוּ⁠נִי 1 Job is speaking as if his **familiar friends** had literally **forgotten** him. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “act as if they never knew me”
19:15 kz75 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession גָּ֘רֵ֤י בֵיתִ֣⁠י 1 Job is using this possessive form to refer to people who have stayed in his **house** as **Guests**. Alternate translation: “People who once stayed in my house as guests”
19:15 y376 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy בְ⁠עֵינֵי⁠הֶֽם 1 Job is using the term **eyes** by association to mean sight. Sight, in turn, represents attention, perspective, and judgment. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “from their perspective” or “as far as they are concerned”
19:16 x8ak rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit לְ⁠עַבְדִּ֣⁠י קָ֭רָאתִי וְ⁠לֹ֣א יַעֲנֶ֑ה 1 In this context, the word **call** implicitly means “summon” and the word **answer** implicitly means “obey.” You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “I summon my servant, but he does not obey and come to me”
19:16 j564 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun לְ⁠עַבְדִּ֣⁠י 1 Job is not referring to a specific **servant**. He means all of his servants. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “to my servants”
19:16 hds8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy בְּמוֹ־פִ֝֗⁠י אֶתְחַנֶּן־לֽ⁠וֹ 1 Job is using the term **mouth** to mean by association what he has to say with his mouth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I have to speak pleadingly to him”
19:17 dgg7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche ר֭וּחִֽ⁠י זָ֣רָה לְ⁠אִשְׁתִּ֑⁠י 1 This could mean: (1) that Job is using one part of himself, his **breath**, to mean all of himself. In verses 13–19, Job is talking about how all of his friends and relatives now treat him as if they did not know him. In verses 13 and 15, Job uses words related to the word that the ULT translates as **strange** in this verse. Alternate translation: “I am like a stranger to my wife” (2) that Job is referring literally to his **breath** and saying that because of his sickness, it smells bad and is offensive to his wife. Alternate translation: “Because of my sickness, my breath smells bad and is offensive to my wife”
19:17 ufr3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession וְ֝⁠חַנֹּתִ֗י לִ⁠בְנֵ֥י בִטְנִֽ⁠י 1 Job could be using the possessive form **of my womb** to mean: (1) the womb of his wife. Job would be speaking of the children that they had together. Alternate translation: “even though we had children together and I treated them kindly” (2) the womb of his mother. Job would be speaking of his siblings, probably meaning his close relatives as in verse 13, and he would be using a different root, with the same letters as the root that means “to be gracious,” that means “to be loathsome.” Alternate translation: “and I am loathsome to my close relatives”
19:18 fp7g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit אָ֝ק֗וּמָה וַ⁠יְדַבְּרוּ־בִֽ⁠י 1 This could mean implicitly: (1) that when Job stands up to speak, younger people who should listen respectfully (see [32:6–7](../32/06.md)) contradict him instead. Alternate translation: “when I stand up to speak, younger people disrespectfully contradict me” (2) that when Job tries to stand up, struggling because of his sickness, children make fun of him. Alternate translation: “when I struggle to stand up, they make fun of me”
19:19 uf7f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession מְתֵ֣י סוֹדִ֑⁠י 1 Job is using this possessive form to describe the **friends** with whom he took **counsel**, that is, the friends with whom he shared his private thoughts and whose advice he asked. Alternate translation: “the friends in whom I confided”
19:19 t7hn rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive נֶהְפְּכוּ־בִֽ⁠י 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “have turned against me”
19:20 j565 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun בְּ⁠עוֹרִ֣⁠י וּ֭⁠בִ⁠בְשָׂרִ⁠י דָּבְקָ֣ה עַצְמִ֑⁠י 1 Job is not referring to a specific **bone**. He means all of his bones. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh”
19:20 lt45 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification בְּ⁠עוֹרִ֣⁠י וּ֭⁠בִ⁠בְשָׂרִ⁠י דָּבְקָ֣ה עַצְמִ֑⁠י 1 Job is speaking of this representative **bone** as if it were living thing that could **cling** to his **skin** and **flesh**. He means that his bones are right next to his skin and flesh, that is, all of the muscle in between has wasted away. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I am just skin and bones”
19:20 ud4z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וָ֝⁠אֶתְמַלְּטָ֗⁠ה בְּ⁠ע֣וֹר שִׁנָּֽ⁠י 1 Job is speaking as if he had barely **escaped** from some disaster and he is describing what little he was able to escape with. He could mean: (1) that the **skin of his teeth**, that is, his gums, are the only part of his skin that his disease is not affecting. Alternate translation: “and my gums are the only part of my skin that my disease is not affecting” (2) that his teeth have fallen out so that only his gums are left. Alternate translation: “and all my teeth have fallen out”
19:21 ux63 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-reduplication חָנֻּ֬⁠נִי חָנֻּ֣⁠נִי 1 Job is repeating the verb **Pity** in order to intensify the idea that it expresses. If your language can repeat words for intensification, it would be appropriate to do that here in your translation. If not, your language may have another way of expressing the emphasis. Alternate translation: “Please have pity on me”
19:21 tbg5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy יַד־אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַּ נָ֣גְעָה בִּֽ⁠י 1 Here the **hand of God** represents the power and activity of God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “God is powerfully afflicting me”
19:22 g28h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion לָ֭⁠מָּה תִּרְדְּפֻ֣⁠נִי כְמוֹ־אֵ֑ל וּ֝⁠מִ⁠בְּשָׂרִ֗⁠י לֹ֣א תִשְׂבָּֽעוּWhy do you pursue me as God {would}? And will you not be satisfied with my flesh? 1 Job is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: “You should not pursue me as God would! You should be satisfied with my flesh!”
19:22 c296 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile לָ֭⁠מָּה תִּרְדְּפֻ֣⁠נִי כְמוֹ־אֵ֑ל 1 The point of this comparison is that just as God would **pursue** someone relentlessly to make sure that sin was punished appropriately, so Job’s friends have been relentlessly insisting that he has sinned. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “Why do you insist relentlessly that I have sinned” or, as a statement, “You should not insist relentlessly that I have sinned”
19:22 y17f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom וּ֝⁠מִ⁠בְּשָׂרִ֗⁠י לֹ֣א תִשְׂבָּֽעוּ 1 Job is likely alluding to a popular expression. In this culture, if someone accused another person maliciously, people said that he was “eating the pieces” of that person. Job is suggesting that his friends are "eating" him in this sense (that is, accusing him maliciously) and they are not yet **satisfied** with the amount of his **flesh** that they have "eaten." If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “And will you never stop accusing me maliciously” or, as a statement, “yes, you should stop accusing me so maliciously”
19:23 r9n7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom מִֽי־יִתֵּ֣ן אֵ֭פוֹ וְ⁠יִכָּתְב֣וּ⁠ן מִלָּ֑⁠י מִֽי־יִתֵּ֖ן בַּ⁠סֵּ֣פֶר וְ⁠יֻחָֽקוּ 1 See how you translated the expression **Who will give** in [11:5–6](../11/05.md). Alternate translation: “I wish that my words would now be written down! I wish that they would be inscribed on a scroll!”
19:23 j566 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit מִֽי־יִתֵּ֣ן אֵ֭פוֹ וְ⁠יִכָּתְב֣וּ⁠ן מִלָּ֑⁠י מִֽי־יִתֵּ֖ן בַּ⁠סֵּ֣פֶר וְ⁠יֻחָֽקוּ 1 In context, Job is suggesting that this is actually unlikely, even though he wishes that it could happen. You could indicate this in your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “It is unfortunate that my words cannot be written down. It is unfortunate that they cannot be inscribed on a scroll”
19:23 j567 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive וְ⁠יִכָּתְב֣וּ⁠ן מִלָּ֑⁠י 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “someone will write down my words”
19:23 llm4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy מִלָּ֑⁠י 1 Job is using the term **words** to mean what he has been saying by using words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “what I have been saying”
19:23 ti7g rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor בַּ⁠סֵּ֣פֶר וְ⁠יֻחָֽקוּ 1 Job is speaking as if he wanted his **words** literally to be **inscribed** or engraved on a **scroll**. He could mean: (1) that he wants someone to record them meticulously on a scroll. Alternate translation: “they will be recorded on a scroll” (2) that he wants someone to engrave them onto a copper sheet. Alternate translation: “they will be inscribed on a copper sheet”
19:23 j568 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive וְ⁠יֻחָֽקוּ 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “someone will inscribe them”
19:24 gz9c rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown בְּ⁠עֵט־בַּרְזֶ֥ל 1 A **stylus** was an iron tool that people in this culture used to engrave writing onto hard surfaces. They would strike the stylus with another tool such as a hammer in order to remove tiny pieces of the surface a little at a time in order to create letters. For better visibility, they would sometimes then fill these letters with lead, which is a soft metal that they could pound into shape. If your readers would not be familiar with what a stylus is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “With a small iron tool cutting tool”
19:25 j569 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-logic-contrast וַ⁠אֲנִ֣י יָ֭דַעְתִּי 1 Job is using the word translated **But** to draw a contrast between what he has just suggested is unlikely, that his claims of innocence will be recorded for posterity, and something that he is very confident about, that his **redeemer** will ultimately vindicate him as innocent. In your translation, you may wish to introduce this verse in a way that will indicate this contrast more explicitly. Alternate translation: “But even though it is unlikely that my claims of innocence will be recorded for posterity, I still know that”
19:25 j570 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns וַ⁠אֲנִ֣י יָ֭דַעְתִּי 1 For emphasis, Job is stating the pronoun **I**, whose meaning is already present in the word translated **know**. If your language can state implied pronouns explicitly for emphasis, you may want to use that construction here in your translation. Other languages may have other ways of bringing out this emphasis. Alternate translation: “But I know very well {that}”
19:25 j571 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit גֹּ֣אֲלִ⁠י חָ֑י 1 Job means implicitly that even though he expects to die, his **redeemer** will still be alive to vindicate him. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “even though I expect to die soon, my redeemer will still be alive”
19:25 q57z rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown גֹּ֣אֲלִ⁠י 1 A **redeemer** was a close relative who would take responsibility to do whatever was necessary to help another family member who was threatened or in need. Your language and culture may have a name for a person who fulfills this role, and you could use that name in your translation. You could also use a general expression. Alternate translation: “the close relative who will vindicate me”
19:25 j573 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-extrainfo גֹּ֣אֲלִ⁠י 1 As Job indicates in the next verse, he believes that God will be his **redeemer**. This is similar to the way that Job speaks in [16:19](../16/19.md) of having an “advocate” in heaven and to the way that he asks God in [17:3](../17/03.md) to be his “surety.” Since Job speaks of God in the next verse, you do not need to explain in this verse that God is the **redeemer** whom Job is expecting. It may even be that Job wishes to generate some suspense and attention by not naming the redeemer right away, and it would be good to give your readers that same experience.
19:25 j574 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj וְ֝⁠אַחֲר֗וֹן 1 Job is using the adjective **last** as a noun to mean a certain time. This could mean: (1) a “later” time, after Job has died. Alternate translation: “after I have died” (2) that Job is the “last” time, the time at the end of the world. Alternate translation: “and that at the end of the world”
19:25 yy3q rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction יָקֽוּם 1 In this culture, people stood up when they were about to speak. This was a symbolic action by which they indicated that they had something important to say and commanded the attention of the people they wanted to listen to them. In this context, the important thing that the redeemer had to say would be that Job was innocent. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “he will stand and speak in my defense”
19:25 j575 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy עַל־עָפָ֥ר 1 Job is using the term **dust** by association to mean the earth, on whose surface there is dust. This may also be a poetic allusion to the fact that Job would be dead and at “rest” in the “dust,” as he said in [17:16](../17/16.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “upon the earth”
19:26 j576 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns וְ⁠אַחַ֣ר ע֭וֹרִֽ⁠י נִקְּפוּ־זֹ֑את 1 The pronoun **they** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “and that after my skin has been stricken off”
19:26 t5gt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ⁠אַחַ֣ר ע֭וֹרִֽ⁠י נִקְּפוּ־זֹ֑את 1 Job is speaking as if someone or something might literally **strike** the **skin** off his bones. He could mean: (1) that his body will decay so that only the bones are left. Alternate translation: “and that even after my body decays so that only the bones are left” (2) that worms, such as he mentioned in [17:14](../17/14.md), will eat the skin off his bones. Alternate translation: “and that even after worms eat the skin off my bones”
19:26 j577 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit וּ֝⁠מִ⁠בְּשָׂרִ֗⁠י 1 Job could be saying that he will **behold God**: (1) from the vantage point of his flesh, that is, from within his body. This would be an implicit expression of faith and confidence in the resurrection of the body. Alternate translation: “yet from my resurrected body” (2) apart from his flesh, that is, as a spirit after death. Alternate translation: “yet as a spirit after death”
19:26 p2pl rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit אֶֽחֱזֶ֥ה אֱלֽוֹהַּ 1 As the General Notes to chapter 13 discuss, in this culture, a subject would be able to look a sovereign in the face if the sovereign favored that subject. Job seems to be alluding here to that cultural norm. The implication is that God will no longer consider him guilty but acknowledge that he was innocent all along. Job indicates in the previous verse that God will also acknowledge his innocence publicly to everyone on earth. Alternate translation: “I will be able to look God in the face because he will affirm that I am innocent”
19:27 j578 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism אֲנִ֨י ׀ אֶֽחֱזֶה־לִּ֗⁠י וְ⁠עֵינַ֣⁠י רָא֣וּ 1 These two phrases mean similar things. Job is using repetition to emphasize the idea that the phrases express. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine them. Alternate translation: “I myself will see very clearly”
19:27 j579 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns אֲנִ֨י ׀ אֶֽחֱזֶה 1 For emphasis, Job is stating the pronoun **I**, whose meaning is already present in the verb translated **will behold**. If your language can state implied pronouns explicitly for emphasis, you may want to use that construction here in your translation. Other languages may have other ways of bringing out this emphasis. Alternate translation: “I will certainly behold”
19:27 m1wt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche וְ⁠עֵינַ֣⁠י רָא֣וּ 1 Job is using one part of himself, his **eyes**, to mean all of him in the act of seeing. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “and see with my own eyes”
19:27 k566 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis וְ⁠לֹא־זָ֑ר 1 Job is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. In this context, the word **stranger** means “someone else.” But it is also an allusion to what Job said in verse 15, that people who knew him now regard him as a “stranger.” Alternate translation: “and it will not be someone else who beholds him”
19:27 c3pc rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor כָּל֖וּ כִלְיֹתַ֣⁠י בְּ⁠חֵקִֽ⁠י 1 Here, the **kidneys** figuratively represents the emotions. Job is saying that he is overcome with emotion at the thought of seeing God. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I am overcome with emotion at this thought”
19:28 np8p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes כִּ֣י תֹ֭אמְרוּ מַה־נִּרְדָּף־ל֑⁠וֹ וְ⁠שֹׁ֥רֶשׁ דָּ֝בָ֗ר נִמְצָא־בִֽ⁠י 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “If you say that you are still going to persecute me because you believe that the root of the matter is found in me”
19:28 j580 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular תֹ֭אמְרוּ 1 The word **you** is plural here because Job is addressing his three friends, so use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
19:28 ddd3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ⁠שֹׁ֥רֶשׁ דָּ֝בָ֗ר 1 Job is saying that his friends might speak as if his situation were literally a plant that had a **root**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “For the cause of the problem”
19:28 j581 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-123person בִֽ⁠י 1 Job seems to begin this hypothetical saying of the three friends as a direct quotation but finish it as an indirect quotation, saying **in me** rather than “in him.” It may be more natural in your language to finish the quotation as a direct quotation. Alternate translation: “in him”
19:29 j582 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy מִ⁠פְּנֵי־חֶ֗רֶב 1 Here the word **face** represents the presence of someone or something by association with the way people can see the face of someone who is present. Alternate translation: “of the presence of the sword”
19:29 tw35 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche מִ⁠פְּנֵי־חֶ֗רֶב 1 Job is using one kind of severe punishment, execution by a **sword**, to mean severe punishment in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “that God may punish you severely”
19:29 t8gg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns חֵ֭מָה עֲוֺנ֣וֹת חָ֑רֶב 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **wrath**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “when God becomes angry at people for being wicked, God punishes them severely”
19:29 n1i1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns ש⁠דין 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **judgment**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “that God punishes wickedness justly”
20:intro p78g 0 # Job 20 General Notes\n\n## Structure and formatting\n\n This chapter is the second speech of Job’s friend Zophar. In this chapter, Zophar speaks more strongly to Job than he did the first time spoke to him.\n\nThe ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is poetry.\n\nTranslation Issues in this chapter\n\n### Zophar answering Job with his own words\n\nIn [7:8](../07/08.md), as Job was appealing to God, he said, “The eye of the one seeing me will not regard me; your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.” Zophar says in [20:9](../20/09.md) about the wicked person, “The eye that saw him will not continue.” Job said in [7:10](../01/01.md) of himself as a mortal person, “He will not return again to his house, and his place will not know him again.” Zophar says of the wicked person in [20:9](../01/01.md), “his place will no longer observe him.” In both instances Zophar is suggesting that Job himself is a wicked person, using Job’s own words.\n\nSimilarly, Zophar says in [20:27](../20/27.md) of the wicked person that “the heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will raise itself up against him” as a witness. In [16:18](../16/18.md), Job called upon the earth to see that he received justice, and in [16:19](../16/19.md), Job said that he had an advocate in the heavens. So Zophar is likely answering Job once again in his own words, implying that Job himself is a wicked person of the type that he has been describing in his speech.\n\nTo help your readers appreciate how Zophar is answering Job with his own words, you may wish to translate what Zophar says in these instances similarly to the way you translated what Job said earlier.\n\n### Indelicate images that Zophar uses\n\nAs noted above, Zophar speaks strongly to Job in this speech. He uses a couple of images drawn from bodily functions that people in your culture might consider it indelicate to include in a Bible translation. If so, you could use comparable images. Zophar says in [20:7](../20/07.md) of the wicked person, “he will perish forever like his dung.” You could refer to something else that disappears completely, saying, for example, “he will perish forever like the dust that the wind blows away.” Zophar says of the wicked person in [20:15](../20/15.md), “He swallows wealth, but he will vomit it.” You might say instead something such as, “Though he may become rich, he will lose all his money.”
20:2 j583 rc://*/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-words-phrases לָ֭⁠כֵן 1 Zophar is using the word **Therefore** to introduce the reason he is about to give for why he is speaking to Job again. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “This is why”
20:2 eef1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification שְׂעִפַּ֣⁠י יְשִׁיב֑וּ⁠נִי 1 Zophar is speaking of his **thoughts** as if they were a living thing that could **turn** him **back**, that is, make him turn around and return to Job as if he had left him. He means that he wants to speak to Job again and share what he is thinking in response to what Job has just said. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “I need to speak to you again and tell you what I am thinking”
20:2 wy6h rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicitinfo וּ֝⁠בַ⁠עֲב֗וּר ח֣וּשִׁ⁠י בִֽ⁠י׃\n\n 1 It might seem that this expression contains extra information that would be unnatural to express in your language. If so, you can shorten it. Alternate translation: “because I feel such urgency”
20:3 m5c5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession מוּסַ֣ר כְּלִמָּתִ֣⁠י 1 Zophar is using this possessive form to describe a **rebuke** that he feels has brought **dishonor** to him. It may be helpful clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “a rebuke that dishonors me”
20:3 pk2s rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification וְ֝⁠ר֗וּחַ מִֽ⁠בִּינָתִ֥⁠י יַעֲנֵֽ⁠נִי 1 Zophar is speaking as if there were a **spirit** in his **understanding** that could **answer** him, that is, show him how to respond to Job. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but I have had a good idea that enables me to understand how I should respond”
20:4 um5p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion הֲ⁠זֹ֣את יָ֭דַעְתָּ מִנִּי־עַ֑ד מִנִּ֤י שִׂ֖ים אָדָ֣ם עֲלֵי־אָֽרֶץ 1 Zophar is using the question form for emphasis. (The question continues into the next verse.) If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “Surely you are aware of this from long ago, from the placing of man upon the earth”
20:4 j584 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche הֲ⁠זֹ֣את יָ֭דַעְתָּ מִנִּי־עַ֑ד מִנִּ֤י שִׂ֖ים אָדָ֣ם עֲלֵי־אָֽרֶץ 1 Zophar is speaking as if Job himself should have known **from long ago** what he is about to say. He means that Job is one member of the human community that has known this for as long as it has existed and that as a member of that community, Job should know it because it has been passed down to him through traditional wisdom. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Surely you are aware of this traditional wisdom that we have received from our earliest ancestors”
20:4 j585 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche מִנִּ֤י שִׂ֖ים אָדָ֣ם עֲלֵי־אָֽרֶץ 1 Zophar is using one thing that God did when he created people, **placing** them on the **earth**, to mean all that God did in creating people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “ever since God created man”
20:4 j586 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations מִנִּ֤י שִׂ֖ים אָדָ֣ם עֲלֵי־אָֽרֶץ 1 Although the term **man** is masculine, Zophar is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “ever since God created people”
20:5 nhc5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion כִּ֤י רִנְנַ֣ת רְ֭שָׁעִים מִ⁠קָּר֑וֹב וְ⁠שִׂמְחַ֖ת חָנֵ֣ף עֲדֵי־רָֽגַע 1 In this verse, Zophar completes the question that he began in the previous verse, using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “that the triumph of the wicked {is} from near, and the joy of the godless {is} for a moment!”
20:5 ubq8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj רְ֭שָׁעִים 1 Zophar is using the adjective **wicked**, which is plural, as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
20:5 j587 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom מִ⁠קָּר֑וֹב 1 Zophar is using this expression to mean that the **triumph** of the **wicked** does not extend very far, and he means that it does not extend in time rather than in space. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “does not last very long”
20:5 u62f rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj חָנֵ֣ף 1 Job is using the adjective **godless**, which is singular, as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “the godless person”
20:5 j588 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun חָנֵ֣ף 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **godless** person. He means all godless people. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “godless people”
20:6 v8z8 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor אִם־יַעֲלֶ֣ה לַ⁠שָּׁמַ֣יִם שִׂיא֑⁠וֹ וְ֝⁠רֹאשׁ֗⁠וֹ לָ⁠עָ֥ב יַגִּֽיעַ 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person might literally become so tall that his head would be at the same level as **cloud** in the **skies**. He means that a wicked person might become very prosperous and powerful. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Though a wicked person may become very prosperous and powerful”
20:6 by93 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun לָ⁠עָ֥ב 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **cloud**. He means the many clouds that appear in the sky. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “to the clouds”
20:7 b9xv rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile כְּֽ֭⁠גֶלֲל⁠וֹ 1 The point of this comparison may be the one that Zophar makes explicitly, that a wicked person will perish **forever** as **dung** perishes forever. However, the point of the comparison could also be that just as people consider **dung** a loathsome substance and dispose of it, people will consider a wicked person to be loathsome and not commemorate him in any way. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “and no on will commemorate him, because they consider him so loathsome”
20:7 sfs4 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-quotesinquotes יֹאמְר֥וּ אַיּֽ⁠וֹ 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “will ask where he has gone”
20:7 j589 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion אַיּֽ⁠וֹ 1 The people who are asking about the wicked person are using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for that purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: “He is gone completely!”
20:8 rep3 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יָ֭עוּף 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally **fly away**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will vanish”
20:8 j590 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-simile כַּ⁠חֲל֣וֹם 1 The point of this comparison is that just as when a **dream** ends, the person who had the dream realizes that it was not real, so it will be as if the wicked person had never existed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: “as if he had never existed”
20:8 byk9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns וְ⁠לֹ֣א יִמְצָא֑וּ⁠הוּ 1 **They** is an indefinite pronoun that does not have a specific referent in the immediate context. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this with a different expression that does not use an indefinite pronoun. Alternate translation: “and no one will be able to find him”
20:8 j591 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive וְ֝⁠יֻדַּ֗ד 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “he will flee”
20:8 j592 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ֝⁠יֻדַּ֗ד 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally **be chased away** or flee. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will vanish”
20:9 xu8t rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche עַ֣יִן שְׁ֭זָפַתּ⁠וּ וְ⁠לֹ֣א תוֹסִ֑יף 1 Zophar is using one part of a person, his **eye**, to mean all of that person in the act of seeing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Anyone who previously saw him will not continue to see him”
20:9 x7cu rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification וְ⁠לֹא־ע֝֗וֹד תְּשׁוּרֶ֥⁠נּוּ מְקוֹמֽ⁠וֹ 1 As Job did in [7:10](../07/10.md), Zophar is speaking here of a person’s **place** of residence as if it were a living thing that could **observe** that person. The idea is that the place where the person once lived will not have occasion to observe him again because he will never return to that place. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will no longer live in his former place of residence”
20:10 v5ee rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-infostructure בָּ֭נָי⁠ו יְרַצּ֣וּ דַלִּ֑ים וְ֝⁠יָדָ֗י⁠ו תָּשֵׁ֥בְנָה אוֹנֽ⁠וֹ 1 You may find it more natural to put the information about what a wicked person will have to do while he is still alive before the information about what his children will have to do after he dies. Alternate translation: “His hands will return his wealth, and his children will recompense the poor”
20:10 lji7 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche וְ֝⁠יָדָ֗י⁠ו תָּשֵׁ֥בְנָה אוֹנֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is using one part of a wicked person, his **hands**, to mean all of him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will return his wealth”
20:10 j593 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit וְ֝⁠יָדָ֗י⁠ו תָּשֵׁ֥בְנָה אוֹנֽ⁠וֹ 1 The implication is that this is **wealth** that a wicked person obtained fraudulently or by oppression and that he has been required to **return**. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “and he will have to return the wealth that he obtained fraudulently and by oppression”
20:11 re6y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche עַ֭צְמוֹתָי⁠ו מָלְא֣וּ 1 Zophar is using one part of a wicked person, his **bones**, to mean his whole body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “His body is full”
20:11 je7r rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-euphemism וְ֝⁠עִמּ֗⁠וֹ עַל־עָפָ֥ר תִּשְׁכָּֽב 1 Zophar is using the phrase **lie down … in the dust** to mean “die.” This is a poetic way of referring to death. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: “but it will die with him”
20:11 j594 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification וְ֝⁠עִמּ֗⁠וֹ עַל־עָפָ֥ר תִּשְׁכָּֽב 1 Zophar is speaking of the **vigor** of a wicked person as if it were a living thing that could **lie down in the dust** or die. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but he will die while he is still young and strong”
20:12 w36z rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor תַּמְתִּ֣יק בְּ⁠פִ֣י⁠ו רָעָ֑ה 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person could literally put **wickedness** in his **mouth** and taste it and find it **sweet**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he enjoys wickedness”
20:12 j595 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns תַּמְתִּ֣יק בְּ⁠פִ֣י⁠ו רָעָ֑ה 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **wickedness**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “wicked things are sweet in his mouth” or “he enjoys doing wicked things”
20:12 nj4p rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יַ֝כְחִידֶ֗⁠נָּה תַּ֣חַת לְשׁוֹנֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person might hide wickedness **under his tongue**. The image is of a person tucking something sweet under his tongue to make it last longer so that he can savor it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he savors it” or “he savors doing wicked things”
20:13 d1n2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יַחְמֹ֣ל עָ֭לֶי⁠הָ וְ⁠לֹ֣א יַֽעַזְבֶ֑⁠נָּה 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally have **pity** on wickedness and **not forsake it**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he is reluctant to let it go” or “he is reluctant to stop doing wicked things”
20:13 j596 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ֝⁠יִמְנָעֶ֗⁠נָּה בְּ⁠ת֣וֹךְ חִכּֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally hold wickedness against the roof of his mouth so that he could savor it. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “but continues to savor it” or “but continues to savor doing them”
20:14 n7jw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor לַ֭חְמ⁠וֹ בְּ⁠מֵעָ֣י⁠ו נֶהְפָּ֑ךְ מְרוֹרַ֖ת פְּתָנִ֣ים בְּ⁠קִרְבּֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person literally eats wickedness and that it turns into **the bitterness of asps** (that is, the poison of those snakes) when he starts to digest it. Zophar means, within the context of the image, that the wicked person gets a painfully upset stomach. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the consequences of his wicked actions turn out to be very unpleasant and he suffers greatly from them”
20:14 lnj1 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown מְרוֹרַ֖ת פְּתָנִ֣ים 1 The term **asps** describes a certain type of poisonous snake. If this snake, or snakes in general, would not be familiar to your readers, you could use a general term. Alternate translation: “it becomes snake poison” or “it becomes reptile poison”
20:15 hs62 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor חַ֣יִל בָּ֭לַע וַ⁠יְקִאֶ֑⁠נּוּ מִ֝⁠בִּטְנ֗⁠וֹ יוֹרִשֶׁ֥⁠נּוּ אֵֽל 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally swallow **wealth** but then **vomit** it back up again, and as if God would literally **expel it** or force it out of **his belly**, presumably by causing him to vomit. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He is greedy to become rich, but he will lose all his money; God will cause him to lose it”
20:16 l7yk rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor רֹאשׁ־פְּתָנִ֥ים יִינָ֑ק 1 Zophar is speaking as if a wicked person would literally **suck** the **poison of asps**. This could mean: (1) that Zophar is alluding to the images in verses 12 and 13 of a wicked person savoring wickedness as if it were something he held under his tongue or against the roof of his mouth. Zophar would be saying that the delicacy that the wicked person savors or sucks turns out to be poison, meaning something that will kill him. Alternate translation: “In the end, the wickedness that he savors will kill him” (2) that an asp will bite the wicked person and he will absorb its **poison** as if he had sucked it in. This would be a more general statement. Alternate translation: “Something deadly will destroy him”
20:16 m2pa rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy תַּֽ֝הַרְגֵ֗⁠הוּ לְשׁ֣וֹן אֶפְעֶֽה 1 Zophar may be reflecting a belief of his culture that the forked tongue of a snake was sharp and that snakes injected poison into people and animals by piercing them with their tongues. If Zophar understood, as people today now understand, that snakes inject their poison through their fangs after biting their victims, then Zophar would be using the term **tongue** by association to mean the mouth and thus the fangs. Alternate translation: “the fangs of the viper will kill him” or “a viper will kill him by biting him and injecting him with poison through his fangs”
20:16 dg2b rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-unknown פְּתָנִ֥ים & אֶפְעֶֽה 1 See how you translated the word “asps” in in [20:14](../20/14.md). A **viper** is another kind of poisonous snake If these snakes, or snakes in general, would not be familiar to your readers, you could use general terms. Alternate translation: “snakes … the poisonous snake” or “reptiles … the poisonous reptile”
20:16 rf6c rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun אֶפְעֶֽה 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **viper**. He means one that might bite a wicked person. Alternate translation: “a viper”
20:17 nb52 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor בִ⁠פְלַגּ֑וֹת נַהֲרֵ֥י נַ֝חֲלֵ֗י דְּבַ֣שׁ וְ⁠חֶמְאָֽה 1 Zophar is speaking as if **streams**, **rivers**, and **torrents** could literally flow with **honey** and **butter**. He is referring to the abundant quantities of these things with which God would bless a righteous person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the abundant quantities of honey and butter with which God blesses righteous people”
20:17 w9e5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche בִ⁠פְלַגּ֑וֹת נַהֲרֵ֥י נַ֝חֲלֵ֗י דְּבַ֣שׁ וְ⁠חֶמְאָֽה 1 Zophar is using two agricultural products, **honey** and **butter**, to mean agricultural products in general and thus, in this culture, wealth in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the abundant wealth with which God blesses righteous people”
20:17 j597 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet בִ⁠פְלַגּ֑וֹת נַהֲרֵ֥י נַ֝חֲלֵ֗י 1 The terms **streams**, **rivers**, and **torrents** mean similar things. Zophar is using the three terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: “the deeply flowing streams of”
20:18 th8a rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit יָ֭גָע 1 It is clear from the next verse, as well as from v. 10, that by **gain** here, Zophar implicitly means money that a wicked person has made by dishonest means. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “his ill-gotten gain”
20:19 j598 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj דַּלִּ֑ים 1 Zophar is using the adjective **poor** as a noun to mean a certain group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “poor people”
20:19 j599 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-doublenegatives וְ⁠לֹ֣א יִבֶנֵֽ⁠הוּ 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this as a positive expression. Alternate translation: “that someone else built” or “that belonged to someone else”
20:20 j600 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor לֹא־יָדַ֣ע שָׁלֵ֣ו בְּ⁠בִטְנ֑⁠וֹ 1 Here, the **belly** or stomach represents a person’s desires, and specifically in this context greedy desires. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he has not experienced the satisfaction of his greedy desires”
20:20 j601 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns לֹא־יָדַ֣ע שָׁלֵ֣ו בְּ⁠בִטְנ֑⁠וֹ 1 If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of **satisfaction**, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “he could never satisfy his greedy desires”
20:20 j602 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj בַּ֝⁠חֲמוּד֗⁠וֹ לֹ֣א יְמַלֵּֽט 1 Zophar is using the adjective **desired** as a noun to mean a certain kind of thing. The ULT adds the word **thing** to show that. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “he will not rescue any of the things that he desired”
20:20 zi35 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-doublenegatives בַּ֝⁠חֲמוּד֗⁠וֹ לֹ֣א יְמַלֵּֽט 1 If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this with a positive expression. Alternate translation: “he will lose all of the things that he desired”
20:21 e2vt rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit אֵין־שָׂרִ֥יד לְ⁠אָכְל֑⁠וֹ 1 This could mean implicitly: (1) Alternate translation: “There is nothing left after he has eaten” (2) Alternate translation: “There is nothing left for him to eat”
20:22 j603 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor בִּ⁠מְלֹ֣אות שִׂ֭פְק⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is speaking of the **wealth** of a wicked person as if he were a container that could become full. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Even if he becomes very wealthy,”
20:22 k3n2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom יֵ֣צֶר ל֑⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is using this expression to mean that the wicked person will experience great distress. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use in your translation. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: “he will be in dire straits” or “he will experience great distress”
20:22 j604 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj כָּל־יַ֖ד עָמֵ֣ל תְּבוֹאֶֽ⁠נּוּ 1 Zophar is using the adjective **troubling** as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “the hand of every person who causes trouble will come against him”
20:22 tq3y rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy כָּל־יַ֖ד עָמֵ֣ל תְּבוֹאֶֽ⁠נּוּ 1 Here, **hand** represents the power and activity of a person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “every person who causes trouble will work against him”
20:22 j605 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole כָּל־יַ֖ד עָמֵ֣ל תְּבוֹאֶֽ⁠נּוּ 1 Zophar says **every** here as a generalization for emphasis. If it would be clearer in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: “people who cause trouble will work against him”
20:23 j606 rc://*/ta/man/translate/writing-pronouns יְהִ֤י ׀ לְ⁠מַלֵּ֬א בִטְנ֗⁠וֹ יְֽשַׁלַּח־בּ֭⁠וֹ חֲר֣וֹן אַפּ֑⁠וֹ וְ⁠יַמְטֵ֥ר עָ֝לֵ֗י⁠מוֹ בִּ⁠לְחוּמֽ⁠וֹ 1 The pronoun **He** at the start of this verse, the two instances of **him**, and the second instance of **his** refer to the wicked person, while the two instances of **he** later in the verse and the first instance of **his** refer to God. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “The wicked person will be about to fill his belly, and God will send the burning of his nose against that wicked person, yes, God will rain it upon that person while that person is eating”
20:23 i6l2 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor וְ⁠יַמְטֵ֥ר עָ֝לֵ֗י⁠מוֹ 1 Zophar is speaking as if God would literally make his anger **rain** on a wicked person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, he will punish him severely”
20:23 d4yy rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit בִּ⁠לְחוּמֽ⁠וֹ 1 Interpreters are not certain what Zophar means by this expression, which can be translated in various ways. It could mean: (1) Alternate translation: “while he is eating” (2) Alternate translation: “upon his flesh” or “upon his body” (3) Alternate translation: “with his arrows” or “with his weapons”
20:24 x5uw rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יִ֭בְרַח מִ⁠נֵּ֣שֶׁק בַּרְזֶ֑ל תַּ֝חְלְפֵ֗⁠הוּ קֶ֣שֶׁת נְחוּשָֽׁה 1 Zophar is speaking as if different soldiers were using a **weapon of iron** and a **bow of bronze** to attack the wicked person he is describing. Zophar is using these weapons to represent dangers. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He may escape from one danger, but another danger will overtake him”
20:24 kj9m rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit יִ֭בְרַח מִ⁠נֵּ֣שֶׁק בַּרְזֶ֑ל תַּ֝חְלְפֵ֗⁠הוּ קֶ֣שֶׁת נְחוּשָֽׁה 1 Since a **bow of bronze** is a more powerful and deadly weapon than a **weapon of iron** such as a sword or spear, Zophar implicitly means that if a wicked person escapes from one danger, a greater danger will overtake him. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “He may escape from one danger, but a greater danger will overtake him”
20:24 j607 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy קֶ֣שֶׁת נְחוּשָֽׁה 1 Zophar is using the term **bow** by association to mean an arrow from a bow. If you decide to retain this image in your translation, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “an arrow that someone shoots using a bronze bow”
20:25 j608 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor שָׁלַף֮ וַ⁠יֵּצֵ֪א מִ⁠גֵּ֫וָ֥ה וּ֭⁠בָרָק מִֽ⁠מְּרֹרָת֥⁠וֹ יַהֲלֹ֗ךְ עָלָ֥י⁠ו אֵמִֽים 1 Zophar is continuing to speak as if someone had shot an arrow into the wicked person he is describing. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “The wicked person realizes that the danger that has overtaken him is going to destroy him”
20:25 j609 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy וּ֭⁠בָרָק 1 Zophar is using the term **gleaming** by association to mean an arrow whose metal point gleams in the sunlight. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and the arrow”
20:25 puf6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-plural עָלָ֥י⁠ו אֵמִֽים 1 Zophar could be using the plural form, **Terrors**, in an intensive sense to mean the worst of terrors, that is, death, as in [18:14](../18/14.md). Alternate translation: “He is terrified because he realizes that he is going to die”
20:26 w5yg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole כָּל־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ טָמ֪וּן 1 Zophar says **all** here as a generalization for emphasis. If it would be clearer in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: “Great darkness is hidden”
20:26 j610 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor כָּל־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ טָמ֪וּן 1 Zophar is using the term **darkness** to represent troubles. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Great troubles are hidden”
20:26 j611 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive כָּל־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ טָמ֪וּן 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who has done the action, the context suggests that it is God. Alternate translation: “God has hidden great troubles”
20:26 j612 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor כָּל־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ טָמ֪וּן 1 Zophar is speaking as if God had literally **hidden** darkness, representing troubles. He could mean: (1) that God has reserved those troubles to destroy the treasured possessions of the wicked person he is describing. Alternate translation: “God has reserved great troubles” (2) that it is as if those troubles were an animal that had **hidden** itself so that it could pounce on the possessions of the wicked person. Alternate translation: “Great troubles are lying in wait”
20:26 j613 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive לִ⁠צְפּ֫וּנָ֥י⁠ו 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “for the things that he treasures”
20:26 syj5 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive תְּ֭אָכְלֵ⁠הוּ אֵ֣שׁ לֹֽא־נֻפָּ֑ח 1 If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “a fire that no one has blown on to kindle will devour him”
20:26 w47r rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit תְּ֭אָכְלֵ⁠הוּ אֵ֣שׁ לֹֽא־נֻפָּ֑ח 1 The implication is that no human being will have **blown** on this **fire** to kindle it; God will send the fire. You could indicate that in your translation if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “A fire that God sends will devour him” or “God will send fire that will devour him”
20:26 qsw9 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor תְּ֭אָכְלֵ⁠הוּ אֵ֣שׁ לֹֽא־נֻפָּ֑ח 1 Zophar is speaking as if **fire** were literally going to **devour** or eat up this wicked person. Within the context of the image, he means that the fire will burn him up, and the image of fire itself represents God destroying the wicked person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “God will destroy him”
20:26 j614 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor יֵ֖רַע שָׂרִ֣יד בְּ⁠אָהֳלֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is continuing to speak as if **fire** were literally going to **consume** this wicked person and his possessions. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, God will completely destroy everything in his tent, leaving nothing”
20:26 j615 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy יֵ֖רַע שָׂרִ֣יד בְּ⁠אָהֳלֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is using one possession of this wicked person, the **tent** in which he lives, to mean all of his possessions. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “yes, God will completely destroy all of his possessions, leaving nothing”
20:27 v1vg rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification יְגַלּ֣וּ שָׁמַ֣יִם עֲוֺנ֑⁠וֹ וְ֝⁠אֶ֗רֶץ מִתְקוֹמָ֘מָ֥ה לֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is speaking as if the **heavens** and the **earth** were living things that could testify against this wicked person. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: “If the sky could speak, it would testify that it had observed his iniquity; if the earth could speak, it would raise itself up against him”
20:27 j616 rc://*/ta/man/translate/translate-symaction וְ֝⁠אֶ֗רֶץ מִתְקוֹמָ֘מָ֥ה לֽ⁠וֹ 1 Zophar means that the earth would **raise itself up**, that is, stand up, against this wicked person as a symbolic action to indicate that it had something important to say. In this context, the important thing that the earth had to say would be that the wicked person was guilty. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the significance of this action. Alternate translation: “and the earth will stand and be a witness against him”
20:28 j617 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-personification יִ֭גֶל יְב֣וּל בֵּית֑⁠וֹ 1 Zophar is speaking of the **wealth** that the wicked person has in his **house** as if it were a living thing that could **depart**. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “He will lose the wealth that is in his house”
20:28 j618 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor נִ֝גָּר֗וֹת 1 Zophar is speaking as if the wicked person’s **wealth** were a liquid that could literally be **flowing away**. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “vanishing” or “being destroyed”
20:28 j620 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom בְּ⁠י֣וֹם אַפּֽ⁠וֹ 1 While God would punish the wicked person on a specific **day**, Zophar is using the term **day** to refer to a specific time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “at the time when God angrily punishes him”
20:29 j621 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor זֶ֤ה ׀ חֵֽלֶק־אָדָ֣ם רָ֭שָׁע מֵ⁠אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְ⁠נַחֲלַ֖ת אִמְר֣⁠וֹ מֵ⁠אֵֽל 1 Zophar is speaking as if were literally giving a **wicked man** a **portion**, probably meaning a portion of family property, and a **heritage**, similarly meaning an inheritance. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “This is the punishment that the wicked man deserves, and God will punish him in that way”
20:29 j622 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-gendernotations אָדָ֣ם רָ֭שָׁע 1 Although the term **man** is masculine, Zophar is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: “the wicked person”
20:29 j623 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-genericnoun אָדָ֣ם רָ֭שָׁע 1 Zophar is not referring to a specific **wicked man** or person. He means wicked people in general. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “wicked people”
20:29 j624 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-possession וְ⁠נַחֲלַ֖ת אִמְר֣⁠וֹ מֵ⁠אֵֽל 1 Zophar is using this possessive form to describe a symbolic **heritage** or inheritance that God has appointed to a wicked person. It may be helpful clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: “and his appointed heritage from God” or “and the heritage that God has appointed to him”
21:intro k6tx 0 # Job 21 General Notes\n\n## Structure and formatting\n\nThis chapter is Job’s response to Zophar’s second speech.\n\nThe ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is poetry.\n\n## Special concepts in this chapter\n\n### Punishment for the sins of one’s parents or ancestors\nIn the culture in which the book of Job was composed, people commonly believed that God might punish someone for the sins of their parents or ancestors. Job says in verse 19 of this chapter that this is what his three friends believe. However, while people’s sins may have consequences for their children and descendants, God does not punish people directly for their parents’ or ancestors’ sins. Be sure that this is clear in your translation.\n\n## Translation issues in this chapter\n\n### The adjective “wicked” as a noun\n\nIn verses 7, 16, 17, and 28, Job uses the adjective “wicked” as a noun to mean wicked people in general. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this word with an equivalent phrase such as “wicked people.”
21:2 ztr6 rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-yousingular שָׁ֭מוֹעַ & תַּנְח֥וּמֹֽתֵי⁠כֶֽם 1 The word **your** and the implied “you” in the imperative **hear** are plural because Job is addressing his three friends, so use the plural form in your translation if your language marks that distinction.
21:2 l3vp rc://*/ta/man/translate/figs-reduplication שִׁמְע֣וּ שָׁ֭מוֹעַ מִלָּתִ֑⁠י 1 Job is repeating the verb **hear** in order to intensify the idea that it expresses. If your language can repeat words for intensification, it would be appropriate to do that here in your translation. If not, your language may have another way of expressing the emphasis. Alternate translation: “Listen carefully to my words”

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