Job 10:21

10:21 before I depart, never to return, ¹ 

to the land of darkness

and the deepest shadow, ² 

Job 12:22

12:22 He reveals the deep things of darkness,

and brings deep shadows ³  into the light.

Job 16:16

16:16 my face is reddened ⁴  because of weeping, ⁵ 

and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness, ⁶ 

Job 34:22

34:22 There is no darkness, and no deep darkness,

where evildoers can hide themselves. ⁷ 

Job 38:17

38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? ⁸ 

Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness? ⁹ 

[10:21]  ¹ sn The verbs are simple, “I go” and “I return”; but Job clearly means before he dies. A translation of “depart” comes closer to communicating this. The second verb may be given a potential imperfect translation to capture the point. The NIV offered more of an interpretive paraphrase: “before I go to the place of no return.”

[10:21]  ² tn See Job 3:5.

[12:22]  ³ tn The Hebrew word is traditionally rendered “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV); see comments at Job 3:3.

[16:16]  ⁵ tn An intensive form, a Qetaltal form of the root חָמַר (khamar, “red”) is used here. This word has as probable derivatives חֹמֶר (khomer, “[red] clay”) and חֲמוֹר (khamor, “[red] ass”) and the like. Because of the weeping, his whole complexion has been reddened (the LXX reads “my belly”).

[16:16]  ⁶ sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 122) notes that spontaneous and repeated weeping is one of the symptoms of elephantiasis.

[16:16]  ⁷ sn See Job 3:5. Just as joy brings light and life to the eyes, sorrow and suffering bring darkness. The “eyelids” here would be synecdoche, reflecting the whole facial expression as sad and sullen.

[34:22]  ⁷ tn The construction of this colon uses the Niphal infinitive construct from סָתַר (satar, “to be hidden; to hide”). The resumptive adverb makes this a relative clause in its usage: “where the evildoers can hide themselves.”

[38:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “uncovered to you.”

[38:17]  ¹⁰ 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).