9:18 He does not allow 1 me to recover 2 my breath,
for he fills 3 me with bitterness.
21:25 And another man 4 dies in bitterness of soul, 5
never having tasted 6 anything good.
1 tn The verb נָתַן (natan) essentially means “to give”; but followed by the infinitive (without the ל [lamed] here) it means “to permit; to allow.”
2 tn The Hiphil of the verb means “to bring back”; with the object “my breath,” it means “get my breath” or simply “breathe.” The infinitive is here functioning as the object of the verb (see GKC 350 §114.m).
3 sn The meaning of the word is “to satiate; to fill,” as in “drink to the full, be satisfied.” Job is satiated – in the negative sense – with bitterness. There is no room for more.
4 tn The expression “this (v. 23)…and this” (v. 25) means “one…the other.”
5 tn The text literally has “and this [man] dies in soul of bitterness.” Some simply reverse it and translate “in the bitterness of soul.” The genitive “bitterness” may be an attribute adjective, “with a bitter soul.”
6 tn Heb “eaten what is good.” It means he died without having enjoyed the good life.