complete verse (Job 38:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 38:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “Come and defend yourself like a man,
    because I am going to ask you things so that you can respond to me.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Get ready like a man!
    I will ask you and you will answer me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Now, prepare yourself, and answer my questions.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Job 38:3

Gird up your loins like a man is used again in 40.7. In Jeremiah 1.17 this expression refers to preparing for a hard task, in Isaiah 5.27 preparing for battle, and in 1 Kings 18.46 for running. See also Luke 12.35. When undertaking tasks that required freedom of the legs, it was necessary to pull the long shirt tail or lower part of the robe up between the legs and fasten it around the waist and hips with a cord or belt. The expression is used figuratively here in the sense of “get ready for action.” Like a man translates a word for man that emphasizes “maleness” but is not the term meaning “strong man” or “warrior.” Good News Translation “stand up now like a man” expresses the thought well. We may also say, for example, “Be prepared like a man,” “get yourself ready….” In some languages this expression may be rendered idiomatically, for example, as “pull up your clothing,” “tighten your belt,” “tie up your waist band.” In many languages, however, a nonfigurative expression such as “get ready” will be used. It is possible in some languages to combine the figurative and nonfigurative expressions.

Declare to me translates “make me know” and has been used by Job when addressing God in 10.2; 13.23, and by Elihu in 37.19 when speaking to Job. In this line God states clearly his course of action: “I am going to ask you questions and you are going to answer 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 .