Job 6:6

Can food that is tasteless ¹  be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white ²  of an egg?

Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavour in the white of an egg?

"Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

People complain when there is no salt in their food. And how tasteless is the uncooked white of an egg!

Do you see what God has dished out for me? It's enough to turn anyone's stomach!

Will a man take food which has no taste without salt? or is there any taste in the soft substance of purslain?

Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any flavor in the juice of mallows?

Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

Can food that is tasteless ¹  be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white ²  of an egg?

¹ tn Heb “a tasteless thing”; the word “food” is supplied from the context.

² tn Some commentators are not satisfied with the translation “white of an egg”; they prefer something connected to “slime of purslane” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 59; cf. NRSV “juice of mallows”). This meaning is based on the Syriac and Arabic version of Sa`adia. The meaning “white of the egg” comes from the rabbinic interpretation of “slime of the yolk.” Others carry the idea further and interpret it to mean “saliva of dreams” or after the LXX “in dream words.” H. H. Rowley does not think that the exact edible object can be identified. The idea of the slimy glaring white around the yolk of an egg seems to fit best. This is another illustration of something that is tasteless or insipid.