complete verse (Job 31:35)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 31:35:

  • Kupsabiny: “I wish there was one who would hear my words.
    If it was the God of power who accused me,
    then I would agree with him that what I say is the truth.
    If everything that people wrongly accuse me of were written down,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “How good it would be if someone would listen to my words,
    Look, this is my true word.
    May the Almighty God Himself give answer.
    Let my accuser put his charges in writing. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘If only there is someone who would listen to me! Now, I am ready sign to prove that I have no sin. If the Almighty God has an accusation to me, I am asking him to say (it) to me, if not he would write-down.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Japanese benefactives (kotaete)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, kotaete (答えて) or “answer” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Job 31:35

Oh, that I had one to hear me!: the Hebrew says literally “Who would give me a listener?” Job has made his appeal to God for a hearing many times, and so he is again appealing to God but does not use the Almighty until the following line. The line may be translated, for example, “Oh, how much I want to be listened to!” or “Oh, if only someone would listen to me!”

Here is my signature! let the Almighty answer me!: my signature translates “my Taw,” the final letter in the Hebrew alphabet. In ancient Hebrew writing this letter was written in the form of a cross. It is Job’s signature or mark which makes any document of his authentic. Although Job does not mention a document, the expression calls up the image of authenticating a legal paper. Without referring to a signature Good News Translation says “I swear that every word is true.” Bible en français courant translates “I can sign what I have said,” meaning that signing it makes Job responsible for its truthfulness. Some take the word translated signature to mean “desire” and translate “This is my desire,” which is completed with “that the Almighty would answer me.” This is similar to New English Bible “Let the Almighty state his case against me!” or, in other words, “My desire is that the Almighty state his case against me.” It is more probable, however, that Job is speaking of his signature and using the expression to claim that all he has said is true. This line may also be expressed, for example, “Oh, how much I wish Almighty God would speak out. I would sign my name to show that all I have said is true.”

Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!: the words Oh, that I had are not in the Hebrew but are supplied by Revised Standard Version to give balance between this line and the first. Good News Translation translates the remainder of verse 35 as an “if” clause in order to link it with verse 36 as the consequence. Because this line opens up a new thought which has consequences in the next verse, such a restructuring, as in Good News Translation, is recommended. Job has presented his case, but he has never seen the charges against him. Indictment translates a term meaning “letter, document, or book.” In this context it refers to “the charges” brought against Job. My adversary is literally the “man of my case,” that is, “the one I am involved with in a legal case,” or as Good News Translation rightly says, “my opponent.” This line may be related to verse 36 by leaving blank space between it and the preceding line and by saying, for example, “As for the charges of my accuser, I wish I had them in writing” or “If I had the written charges made by the one who accuses me….”

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 .