Job 41:8

41:8 If you lay your hand on it,

you will remember ¹  the fight,

and you will never do it again!

Job 20:4

20:4 “Surely you know ²  that it has been from old,

ever since humankind was placed ³  on the earth,

[41:8]  ¹ tn The verse uses two imperatives which can be interpreted in sequence: do this, and then this will happen.

[20:4]  ² tn The MT has “Do you not know?” The question can be interpreted as a rhetorical question affirming that Job must know this. The question serves to express the conviction that the contents are well-known to the audience (see GKC 474 §150.e).

[20:4]  ³ tn Heb “from the putting of man on earth.” The infinitive is the object of the preposition, which is here temporal. If “man” is taken as the subjective genitive, then the verb would be given a passive translation. Here “man” is a generic, referring to “mankind” or “the human race.”