Verse 1 is in prose; it is phrased in the same manner as the introductions to the speeches of the friends, except that Job is named as the one being addressed. There is no reference to Elihu, who was the previous speaker, nor to anything Elihu has said.

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: Then translates the Hebrew connective waw, which is used here to mark a transition which shifts the scene forward to a new setting. It is usually translated as Then in English, but can be “after that, when that was finished, later on.” LORD translates the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh. For full discussion see “Translating the Book of Job,” page 21, and comments on 1.6. Answered is not to be taken in the sense of answering a question, but more generally as “spoke to, said to, addressed.” The first thing God says to Job is in the form of a question in verse 2. For comments on answered see 4.1. Whirlwind does not translate the same words for storm used by Elihu in chapters 36 and 37. This may be a way of avoiding any reference to Elihu’s talk. The Hebrew term refers to a fierce, raging storm. Whirlwind is a rather more specific type of wind than the context suggests, and a more general term for a severe storm is better. Storms were associated with appearances of God in Exodus 19.19-20; Judges 5.4-5; Habakkuk 3.5-6; Psalm 18.8-16. New English Bible and others use “tempest,” and Good News Translation “storm.” In translation it may be necessary to restructure out of the whirlwind, which refers to the place from which the LORD speaks to Job. In some languages this is expressed “from inside the storm,” “from the heart of the storm,” or as a simile, “The LORD spoke to Job like a great wind storm.”

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 .