Job 8 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

In this chapter, Job’s friend Bildad responds to what Job said in chapters 6 and 7.

The ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because it is poetry.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Bildad answering Job with his own words

In 7:21, at the end of his speech, Job suggested that God might seek for him diligently. Bildad says in his response in 8:5 that it is actually Job who should be seeking God diligently. To help your readers appreciate how Bildad is answering Job with his own words, you may wish to translate Bildad’s expression seek diligently the same way that you translated it when Job used it in 7:21.

Quotation within a quotation

In his speech, Bildad encourages Job to consider the wisdom of their ancestors. In verses 11–22, he may be quoting from traditional teachings. Notes suggest the possibility of punctuating these verses as a secondary quotation if your language might naturally put one direct quotation inside another.