Job 21:17

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Job 21:17 tn The interrogative “How often” occurs only with the first colon; it is supplied for smoother reading in the next two.
2. Job 21:17 tn The pronominal suffix is objective; it re-enforces the object of the preposition, “upon them.” The verb in the clause is בּוֹא (boʾ) followed by עַל (ʿal), “come upon [or against],” may be interpreted as meaning attack or strike.
3. Job 21:17 tn חֲבָלִים (khavalim) can mean “ropes” or “cords,” but that would not go with the verb “apportion” in this line. The meaning of “pangs (as in “birth-pangs”) seems to fit best here. The wider meaning would be “physical agony.”
4. Job 21:17 tn The phrase “to them” is understood and thus is supplied in the translation for clarification.