These two verses form two parts of a conditional sentence. Verse 14 has been rendered variously by different translators. If he should take back his spirit to himself is the first half of the condition and is literally “If he set his heart upon him.” There are two problems here. First, the verb phrase translated “set his heart” can mean “pay attention, notice.” Second, “upon him” may be taken to refer to God or to man. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project offers two translations: “If he (God) should turn his attention only to himself” or “… to man.” Revised Standard Version follows the change made in the Septuagint and supported by Dhorme, that translates the verb as take back. Revised Standard Version omits “heart” as a scribal addition inserted in the text at an earlier stage when the verb in this line was misunderstood. However, the line can be adequately translated without change, as by Pope, “if he took it in his mind,” or by Habel, “if he places in his heart…,” and by New International Version, “if it were his intention….”

And gather to himself his breath follows the tradition of dividing the text into lines in such a way that spirit is the object of the verb in line a. However, following the suggestion of Pope and others, “heart” is part of the idiom of “planning, deciding, taking in mind,” and both spirit and breath may be taken as the objects of the verb gather (matching take back) in line b. Since the whole of verse 14 is the conditional clause, Good News Translation has omitted the verb of line a, saying only “If God took back the breath of life.” It would be more complete to say “If God should decide to take back the spirit and breath of life.” This thought corresponds closely to that of Psalm 104.29; Ecclesiastes 12.7. “Breath of life” may also be rendered “his breath that gives people life” or “his breath that causes people to live.” For a discussion of the distinction between nefesh spirit and ruach breath, see 12.10.

The consequence of the conditions in verse 14 is all flesh would perish together. Flesh refers to “all living things,” as was used in 12.10; 28.21. Perish together means “die at the same time, at once, immediately.”

The second condition is and man would return to dust. Man does not single out “human beings” as distinct from all flesh in line a, but allows poetic focusing on the more specific form of flesh. Return to dust is as Good News Translation, “turn into dust again,” as in Genesis 3.19. Dust has the sense of earth, soil, as in 10.9. Verse 15 may also be rendered, for example, “then every living thing would die at once, and mankind would return to dust” or “as a result all living creatures would die together, and mankind would become earth again.”

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 .