Job 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?

Job 18:5,6,18; Ps 32:10; Ps 90:7-9; Pr 13:9; Pr 20:20; Pr 24:20; Mt 25:8; Lu 12:46; Ro 2:8,9

¹ tn The interrogative “How often” occurs only with the first colon; it is supplied for smoother reading in the next two.

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.

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.”

⁴ tn The phrase “to them” is understood and thus is supplied in the translation for clarification.