Even young children despise me: Even translates an expression that calls attention to the extent in which everyone has abandoned Job. Young children translates a word found only here and in 21.11, and which is correctly translated as Revised Standard Version has it. These young children are old enough to understand how to ridicule and to employ the words and gestures this may have involved. Despise translates a verb also meaning “to scorn, ridicule, make fun of.” This line may also be rendered, for example, “Even young children make fun of me” or “Even the children laugh at me.”

When Job struggles to his feet these children jeer or laugh at him. When I rise they talk against me: when I rise refers to Job’s getting to his feet to stand and move about. Talk against is the literal Hebrew, but the preposition represented by against when following the word talk takes on the meaning of “scoff, ridicule.” These children are not using conversation to discuss Job negatively; they are in all likelihood depicted as using words, sounds, and gestures to make fun of, deride, laugh at Job. The line may also be expressed “when I get up to go, they make fun of me” or “when I stand up….”

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 .