38:16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, 1
or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? 2
Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness? 3
38:18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all!
38:19 “In what direction 4 does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
38:20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes? 5
38:21 You know, for you were born before them; 6
and the number of your days is great!
1 tn Heb “the springs of the sea.” The words “that fill” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of the phrase.
2 tn Heb “uncovered to you.”
3 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).
3 tn The interrogative with דֶרֶךְ (derekh) means “in what road” or “in what direction.”
4 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.
5 tn The imperfect verb after the adverb אָז (’az, “then”) functions as a preterite: “you were born.” The line is sarcastic.