Job 3:13

For now ¹  I would be lying down and ²  would be quiet, ³  I would be asleep and then at peace ⁴ 

For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest

"For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

For if I had died at birth, I would be at peace now, asleep and at rest.

I could be resting in peace right now, asleep forever, feeling no pain,

For then I might have gone to my rest in quiet, and in sleep have been in peace,

Now I would be lying down and quiet; I would be asleep; then I would be at rest

For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest

For now ¹  I would be lying down and ²  would be quiet, ³  I would be asleep and then at peace ⁴ 

¹ tn The word עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) may have a logical nuance here, almost with the idea of “if that had been the case…” (IBHS 667-68 §39.3.4f). However, the temporal “now” is retained in translation since the imperfect verb following two perfects “suggests what Job’s present state would be if he had had the quiet of a still birth” (J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 95, n. 23). Cf. GKC 313 §106.p.

² tn The copula on the verb indicates a sequence for the imperfect: “and then I would….” In the second half of the verse it is paralleled by “then.”

³ tn The text uses a combination of the perfect (lie down/sleep) and imperfect (quiet/rest). The particle עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) gives to the perfect verb its conditional nuance. It presents actions in the past that are not actually accomplished but seen as possible (GKC 313 §106.p).

⁴ tn The last part uses the impersonal verb “it would be at rest for me.”