29:23 They waited for me as people wait 1 for the rain,
and they opened their mouths 2
as for 3 the spring rains.
38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, 4
a desert where there are no human beings, 5
1 tn The phrase “people wait for” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.
2 sn The analogy is that they received his words eagerly as the dry ground opens to receive the rains.
3 tn The כּ (kaf) preposition is to be supplied by analogy with the preceding phrase. This leaves a double proposition, “as for” (but see Job 29:2).
4 tn Heb “on a land, no man.”
5 tn Heb “a desert, no man in it.”