Job 10:18

An Appeal for Relief

10:18 “Why then did you bring me out from the womb?

I should have died ¹ 

and no eye would have seen me!

Job 27:12

27:12 If you yourselves have all seen this,

Why in the world ²  do you continue this meaningless talk? ³ 

[10:18]  ¹ tn The two imperfect verbs in this section are used to stress regrets for something which did not happen (see GKC 317 §107.n).

[27:12]  ² tn The interrogative uses the demonstrative pronoun in its emphatic position: “Why in the world…?” (IBHS 312-13 §17.4.3c).

[27:12]  ³ tn The text has the noun “vain thing; breath; vapor,” and then a denominative verb from the same root: “to become vain with a vain thing,” or “to do in vain a vain thing.” This is an example of the internal object, or a cognate accusative (see GKC 367 §117.q). The LXX has “you all know that you are adding vanity to vanity.”