OET interlinear JOB 17:14

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

לַ⁠שַּׁ֣חַת קָ֭רָאתִי אָ֣בִ⁠י אָ֑תָּה

to_the,pit say father,my you(ms)

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “if I tell the pit that it is my father” or “if I call the pit my father”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לַ⁠שַּׁ֣חַת קָ֭רָאתִי אָ֣בִ⁠י אָ֑תָּה

to_the,pit say father,my you(ms)

If Job said this, he would be saying that the pit was his home, by association with the way that a person lives in the home of his father. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if I call to the pit, ‘You are my home’”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / apostrophe

לַ⁠שַּׁ֣חַת קָ֭רָאתִי אָ֣בִ⁠י אָ֑תָּה

to_the,pit say father,my you(ms)

If Job did speak this way to the pit, that is, to the realm of the dead, he would be speaking to something that he knew could not hear and understand him in order to make an emphatic statement. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if I said that the pit was certainly going to be my home”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

אִמִּ֥⁠י וַ֝⁠אֲחֹתִ֗⁠י לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה

mother,my and,sister,my to_the,worm

Job is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “or if I call to the worm and say, ‘You are my mother,’ or, ‘You are my sister’”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

אִמִּ֥⁠י וַ֝⁠אֲחֹתִ֗⁠י לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה

mother,my and,sister,my to_the,worm

If Job said this to a worm, such as would be found in a grave, he would be saying that the grave was going to be his home, by association with the way that a person shares a home with his mother and sister. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “or if I call to the worm, ‘I am going to share the grave with you’” or “or if I call to the worm, ‘I am going to be in a grave, just as you are’”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / apostrophe

אִמִּ֥⁠י וַ֝⁠אֲחֹתִ֗⁠י לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה

mother,my and,sister,my to_the,worm

If Job did speak this way to a worm, he would be speaking to something that he knew could not hear and understand him in order to make an emphatic statement. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “if I said that I was certainly going to be in a grave”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה

to_the,worm

Job is not referring to a specific worm. He means any worm. Express this in the way that would be most natural in your language. Alternate translation: “to a worm”

Note 8 topic: translate-unknown

לָֽ⁠רִמָּֽה

to_the,worm

A worm is a small, legless creature that burrows through the ground, passing the soil through its digestive system in order to extract the nutrients that the soil contains. Worms also pass whatever else they find underground through their digestive systems, including dead bodies. If your readers would not be familiar with what a worm is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable creature in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “to a small burrowing creature”