Whether for correction, or for his land, or for love is translated in numerous ways. This verse does not consist of two parallel lines, but is a single statement in which the main clause comes at the end, as in Revised Standard Version. Correction and love are easily paired as far as meaning is concerned, but land does not seem to fit. Correction translates the Hebrew “whip,” a symbol of punishment. Love translates the Hebrew chesed, meaning “constant love, loyalty,” and Good News Translation renders it here as “favor.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project makes three recommendations for translating this line. The first is the same as Revised Standard Version. The second is “whether for correction, if it concerns his land, whether for a favor, he will bring it about.” The third is “whether for a tribe, or for his land, or for a favor, he will make it happen.” Pope suggests changing for his land to get “grace,” but this makes “favor” redundant. Dhorme says that a verb is required in the first half of the verse. Accordingly he redivides the two words translated or for his land, and with a slight change in the Hebrew gets “God accomplished his will.” This provides a parallelism, “Whether it be for punishment that he accomplishes his will, whether it be for mercy that he brings it to pass.”

Good News Translation‘s translation depends on the understanding of the main clause in Revised Standard Version, he causes it to happen. Good News Translation follows an observation made by Dhorme that the Targum translations saw here three different kinds of rain, and so Good News Translation has taken this phrase to mean “God sends rain,” and the poorly fitting for his land is taken as the general statement of purpose to be followed by the two specific purposes. Good News Translation then translates “God sends rain to water the earth; he may send it to punish men, or to show them his favor.” Bible en français courant interprets he causes it to happen to mean the same as Dhorme’s suggested change, and translates “God carries out his will on earth, either to punish or to show his goodness,” and adds a note, “Probable meaning of an uncertain text.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “He sends rain to moisten the earth. Sometimes he sends it to punish people and sometimes as a sign of his goodness.” It is not possible to make a reasonably clear translation of this verse without some textual or other adjustments, and Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, or Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch are suitable models to follow.

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 .