For God speaks in one way, and in two is understood variously by different translators. New Jerusalem Bible seems to understand it as Revised Standard Version may imply, “God speaks first in one way, and then in another.” Bible en français courant focuses on the manner of speaking, with “When God speaks he chooses one means of expression or another….” New English Bible understands it to mean that God speaks but once: “Indeed, once God has spoken he does not speak a second time….” This follows Dhorme, “The fact is that God speaks once, and He does not repeat His word.”

What we have here is an example of number parallelism, which was presented in the introduction, “Translating the Book of Job,” page 12, and discussed again in 5.19. Translators should review the comments there. Elihu is here using a common poetic device in which the second of two numbers is always greater than the first. The device is used in order to express the thought of doing something over and over, “again and again,” as Good News Translation says. We may also translate, for example, “God says something, then he says it over and over.”

Though man does not perceive it is taken by some to mean “though one does not see him.” Vulgate and Syriac change this line to mean “and he does not repeat it,” which is the basis for Dhorme and New English Bible above. A better rendering is based on the Hebrew without any change, as in Good News Translation, “No one pays attention to what he says.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .