Job 3:21

to ¹  those who wait ²  for death that ³  does not come, and search for it ⁴  more than for hidden treasures,

to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure,

Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

They long for death, and it won’t come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure.

Those who want in the worst way to die, and can't, who can't imagine anything better than death,

To those whose desire is for death, but it comes not; who are searching for it more than for secret wealth;

who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures;

Who long for death, but it does not come , And search for it more than hidden treasures;

to ¹  those who wait ²  for death that ³  does not come, and search for it ⁴  more than for hidden treasures,

¹ tn The verse simply begins with the participle in apposition to the expressions in the previous verse describing those who are bitter. The preposition is added from the context.

² tn The verb is the Piel participle of חָכָה (khakhah, “to wait for” someone; Yahweh is the object in Isa 8:17; 64:3; Ps 33:20). Here death is the supreme hope of the miserable and the suffering.

³ tn The verse simply has the form אֵין (’en, “there is not”) with a pronominal suffix and a conjunction – “and there is not it” or “and it is not.” The LXX and the Vulgate add a verb to explain this form: “and obtain it not.”

⁴ tn The parallel verb is now a preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive; it therefore has the nuance of a characteristic perfect or gnomic perfect – the English present tense.

sn The verb חָפַר (khafar) means “to dig; to excavate.” It may have the accusative of the thing that is being sought (Exod 7:24); but here it is followed by a comparative min (מִן). The verse therefore describes the sufferers who excavate or dig the ground to find death, more than others who seek for treasure.