Job 30:16

Job’s Despondency

30:16 “And now my soul pours itself out within me; ¹ 

days of suffering take hold of me.

Job 30:27

30:27 My heart ²  is in turmoil ³  unceasingly; ⁴ 

the days of my affliction confront me.

[30:16]  ¹ tn This line can either mean that Job is wasting away (i.e., his life is being poured out), or it can mean that he is grieving. The second half of the verse gives the subordinate clause of condition for this.

[30:27]  ² tn Heb “my loins,” “my bowels” (archaic), “my innermost being.” The latter option is reflected in the translation; some translations take the inner turmoil to be literal (NIV: “The churning inside me never stops”).

[30:27]  ³ tn Heb “boils.”

[30:27]  ⁴ tn The last clause reads “and they [it] are not quiet” or “do not cease.” The clause then serves adverbially for the sentence – “unceasingly.”