Ayub 21:17-18

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?

21:18 How often ⁵  are they like straw before the wind,

and like chaff swept away ⁶  by a whirlwind?

[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.

[21:18]  ⁵ tn To retain the sense that the wicked do not suffer as others, this verse must either be taken as a question or a continuation of the question in v. 17.

[21:18]  ⁶ tn The verb used actually means “rob.” It is appropriate to the image of a whirlwind suddenly taking away the wisp of straw.