Job 31:39

if I have eaten its produce without paying, ¹  or caused the death ²  of its owners, ³ 

if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,

If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners,

If I've ever raped the earth for my own profit or dispossessed its rightful owners,

If I have taken its produce without payment, causing the death of its owners;

if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners;

If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives;

if I have eaten its produce without paying, ¹  or caused the death ²  of its owners, ³ 

¹ tn Heb “without silver.”

² tc The versions have the verb “grieved” here. The Hebrew verb means “to breathe,” but the form is Hiphil. This verb in that stem could mean something of a contemptuous gesture, like “sniff” in Mal 1:13. But with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in Job 11:20 it means “to cause death,” i.e., “to cause to breathe out; to expire.” This is likely the meaning here, although it is possible that it only meant “to cause suffering” to the people.

³ tn There is some debate over the meaning of בְּעָלֶיהָ (bÿ’aleyha), usually translated “its owners.” Dahood, following others (although without their emendations), thought it referred to “laborers” (see M. Dahood, Bib 41 [1960]: 303; idem, Bib 43 [1962]: 362).