Job 38:16-21
New English Translation
16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea,[a]
or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?[b]
Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?[c]
18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all.
19 “In what direction[d] does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes?[e]
21 You know, for you were born before them;[f]
and the number of your days is great!
Footnotes
- Job 38:16 tn Heb “the springs of the sea.” The words “that fill” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of the phrase.
- Job 38:17 tn Heb “uncovered to you.”
- Job 38:17 tn Some still retain the traditional phrase “shadow of death” in the English translation (cf. NIV). The reference is to the entrance to Sheol (see Job 10:21).
- Job 38:19 tn The interrogative with דֶרֶךְ (derekh) means “in what road” or “in what direction.”
- Job 38:20 tn The suffixes are singular (“that you may take it to its border…to its home”), referring to either the light or the darkness. Because either is referred to, the translation has employed plurals, since singulars would imply that only the second item, “darkness,” was the referent. Plurals are also employed by NAB and NIV.
- Job 38:21 tn The imperfect verb after the adverb אָז (ʾaz, “then”) functions as a preterite (“you were born”); אָז has been left untranslated because the past tense translation itself suffices to reflect the idiom. The pronoun “them,” referring to light and darkness mentioned in v. 19, has been added to clarify the sense of the statement. Clearly the line is sarcastic.
Job 38:16-21
New American Standard Bible
16 “Have you entered (A)the springs of the sea,
And walked [a]in the depth of the ocean?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
And have you seen the gates of (B)deep darkness?
18 Have you understood the [b]expanse of (C)the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you would take it to (D)its territory,
And discern the paths to its [c]home?
21 You know, for (E)you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
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