inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Job 22:20)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai translation uses the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

complete verse (Job 22:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 22:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those people are saying that,
    ‘Truly our enemies are destroyed
    and fire destroys the things they have left behind.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “’Surely our enemies have been destroyed.
    Their wealth [and] property will be reduced to ashes.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They will-say, ‘Our (incl.) enemies were- totally -destroyed, and fire devoured their possessions.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed,
    and all their possessions that were left have been burned in a fire.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Job 22:19 - 22:20

These two verses may be taken together as a description of the way in which the righteous react when they see the wicked experiencing disasters such as those referred to in verse 16. In Psalm 52.6-7 and 69.32 the psalmist speaks of the righteous rejoicing over the misfortunes of the wicked. The first line is the same as Psalm 107.42a.

The righteous see it and are glad: The righteous refers to those who are “faithful, upright, good.” In the Hebrew “they see and are glad.” What they see is the misfortune of the wicked in verse 16. Good News Translation has made it explicit, “when they see the wicked punished,” and transfers this to the second line. In translation it will often be necessary to state the object of seeing; for example, “Good people are happy to see the troubles of the wicked,” “Good people rejoice when they see evil people have misfortune,” or “The upright are glad when God punishes wicked people.”

The innocent laugh them to scorn: the innocent does not refer to people who have been acquitted of a crime, but is in parallel with The righteous in the previous line and has the same meaning. Laugh them to scorn translates the same Hebrew expression used in Psalm 2.4, which means to laugh at someone with the purpose of “deriding, ridiculing, making fun of.” Good News Translation has joined “good men” and “innocent men” in line a as subjects of “glad” and “laugh,” and has made line b a subordinate clause, “when they see the wicked punished.” The purpose of this is to avoid the monotony of parallel lines in English. Translators may find it best to follow Good News Translation as a model or to make a parallel line; for example, “they laugh and make fun of evil people” or “they laugh as they ridicule the wicked.”

Saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off…’: the word translated adversaries occurs only here in the Old Testament, and therefore its meaning is uncertain. Many guesses have been made. BDB suggests two possible changes. The first keeps the first person plural, as in Revised Standard Version our adversaries. The use of the first person implies that this verse is a quotation of the words of the innocent in verse 19, and so Revised Standard Version inserts the word saying between verses 19 and 20. The other change suggested substitutes a third-person plural suffix for the first plural, which is then attached to a word meaning “wealth.” This avoids the need for introducing the word saying, since the third person now refers not to the enemies of the good men, but to the possessions of the evil men described in verses 15-17. Therefore New English Bible translates the line “for their riches are swept away.” This change is used by most of the ancient versions and is the one followed by Good News Translation. It has the additional advantage of providing a parallel to the third person in the next line, which is attached to a word meaning what they left or “their wealth” (New English Bible). The verb translated cut off is a passive form and has the sense of “are destroyed,” “are ruined.” This line may also be expressed either in terms of enemies or wealth; for example, “Indeed our enemies are destroyed” or “Certainly their wealth is destroyed.” Stated as an active construction these alternatives may be “Certainly God destroys our enemies” or “Indeed God destroys their wealth.” As indicated above, the recommended translation follows the change to wealth; for example, “Yes, God takes away their possessions.”

And what they left the fire has consumed: Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates verse 20 as the event witnessed by the upright in verse 19: “upon seeing the riches of the wicked being devoured by fire.” This line seems to refer to “anything left over,” which is then destroyed by fire. The picture is that of the total destruction of their possessions. In some languages the line is expressed “and fire eats the rest” or “what they leave behind, fire eats 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 .