Job 31:18

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan ¹  like a father,

and from my mother’s womb ² 

I guided the widow! ³ 

Job 38:32

38:32 Can you lead out

the constellations ⁴  in their seasons,

or guide the Bear with its cubs? ⁵ 

[31:18]  ¹ tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.

[31:18]  ² tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”

[31:18]  ³ tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.

[38:32]  ⁴ tn The word מַזָּרוֹת (mazzarot) is taken by some to refer to the constellations (see 2 Kgs 23:5), and by others as connected to the word for “crown,” and so “corona.”

[38:32]  ⁵ sn See Job 9:9.