Job 21:17

How Often Do the Wicked Suffer?

21:17 “How often ¹  is the lamp of the wicked extinguished?

How often does their ²  misfortune come upon them?

How often does God apportion pain ³  to them ⁴  in his anger?

Job 38:24

38:24 In what direction is lightning ⁵  dispersed,

or the east winds scattered over the earth?

[21:17]  ¹ tn The interrogative “How often” occurs only with the first colon; it is supplied for smoother reading in the next two.

[21:17]  ² tn The pronominal suffix is objective; it re-enforces the object of the preposition, “upon them.” The verb in the clause is בּוֹא (bo’) followed by עַל (’al), “come upon [or against],” may be interpreted as meaning attack or strike.

[21:17]  ³ tn חֲבָלִים (khavalim) can mean “ropes” or “cords,” but that would not go with the verb “apportion” in this line. The meaning of “pangs (as in “birth-pangs”) seems to fit best here. The wider meaning would be “physical agony.”

[21:17]  ⁴ tn The phrase “to them” is understood and thus is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[38:24]  ⁵ tn Because the parallel with “light” and “east wind” is not tight, Hoffmann proposed ‘ed instead, “mist.” This has been adopted by many. G. R. Driver suggests “parching heat” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 91-92).