Job 14:18

But as ¹  a mountain falls away and crumbles, ²  and as a rock will be removed from its place,

"But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place,

"But the falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock moves from its place;

"But as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,

"Meanwhile, mountains wear down and boulders break up,

But truly a mountain falling comes to dust, and a rock is moved from its place;

"But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place;

"But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place;

But as ¹  a mountain falls away and crumbles, ²  and as a rock will be removed from its place,

¹ tn The indication that this is a simile is to be obtained from the conjunction beginning 19c (see GKC 499 §161.a).

² tn The word יִבּוֹל (yibbol) usually refers to a flower fading and so seems strange here. The LXX and the Syriac translate “and will fall”; most commentators accept this and repoint the preceding word to get “and will surely fall.” Duhm retains the MT and applies the image of the flower to the falling mountain. The verb is used of the earth in Isa 24:4, and so NIV, RSV, and NJPS all have the idea of “crumble away.”