Job 31:8

31:8 then let me sow ¹  and let another eat,

and let my crops ²  be uprooted.

Job 4:8

4:8 Even as I have seen, ³  those who plow ⁴  iniquity ⁵ 

and those who sow trouble reap the same. ⁶ 

[31:8]  ¹ tn The cohortative is often found in the apodosis of the conditional clause (see GKC 320 §108.f).

[31:8]  ² tn The word means “what sprouts up” (from יָצָא [yatsa’] with the sense of “sprout forth”). It could refer metaphorically to children (and so Kissane and Pope), as well as in its literal sense of crops. The latter fits here perfectly.

[4:8]  ³ tn The perfect verb here represents the indefinite past. It has no specific sighting in mind, but refers to each time he has seen the wicked do this.

[4:8]  ⁴ sn The figure is an implied metaphor. Plowing suggests the idea of deliberately preparing (or cultivating) life for evil. This describes those who are fundamentally wicked.

[4:8]  ⁵ tn The LXX renders this with a plural “barren places.”

[4:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “reap it.”