OET interlinear JOB 4:21

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

הֲ⁠לֹא־נִסַּ֣ע יִתְרָ֣⁠ם בָּ֑⁠ם

?,not (Some words not found in UHB: ?,not pulled_up tent-cord_of,their in,them die and=not with,wisdom )

Eliphaz is using the question form for emphasis. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: [Their tent cord is certainly pulled up away from them!]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

הֲ⁠לֹא־נִסַּ֣ע יִתְרָ֣⁠ם בָּ֑⁠ם

?,not (Some words not found in UHB: ?,not pulled_up tent-cord_of,their in,them die and=not with,wisdom )

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, the context suggests that it is God. Alternate translation: [Does not God pull up their tent cord away from them]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

הֲ⁠לֹא־נִסַּ֣ע יִתְרָ֣⁠ם בָּ֑⁠ם

?,not (Some words not found in UHB: ?,not pulled_up tent-cord_of,their in,them die and=not with,wisdom )

Eliphaz is speaking as if people were literally a tent whose cord had been pulled up so that it was in danger of imminent collapse. He means that mortals have only a brief and uncertain life. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Do not people have only a brief and uncertain life?] or, as an exclamation, [People have only a brief and uncertain life!]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בְ⁠חָכְמָֽה

with,wisdom

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of wisdom, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [after having lived wisely]