Logos Bible Study

Job 5:7

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5:7but people22 are born23 to trouble,

as surely as the sparks24 fly25 upward.26

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Footnotes

  1. 22 Heb “man [is].” Because “man” is used in a generic sense for humanity here, the generic “people” has been used in the translation.
  2. 23 There is a slight difficulty here in that vv. 6 and 7 seem to be saying the opposite thing. Many commentators, therefore, emend the the Niphal יוּלָּד (yullad, “is born”) to an active participle יוֹלֵד (yoled, “begets”) to place the source of trouble in man himself. But the seems to retain the passive idea: “man is born to trouble.” The contrast between the two verses does not seem too difficult, for it still could imply that trouble’s source is within the man.
  3. 24 For the Hebrew בְנֵי־רֶשֶׁף (béne reshef, “sons of the flame”) the present translation has the rendering “sparks.” E. Dhorme (Job, 62) thinks it refers to some kind of bird, but renders it “sons of the lightning” because the eagle was associated with lightning in ancient interpretations. Sparks, he argues, do not soar high above the earth. Other suggestions include Resheph, the Phoenician god of lightning (Pope), the fire of passion (Buttenwieser), angels (Peake), or demons ( Job). None of these are convincing; the idea of sparks flying upward fits the translation well and makes clear sense in the passage.
  4. 25 The simple translation of the last two words is “fly high” or “soar aloft” which would suit the idea of an eagle. But, as H. H. Rowley (Job [], 53) concludes, the argument to identify the expression preceding this with eagles is far-fetched.
  5. 26 The has the name of a bird here: “the vulture’s young seek the high places.” The to Job has “sons of demons” or “the sparks which shoot from coals of fire.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

but man is born to trouble

as the sparks fly upward.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Yet man is born to trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But humans are born for trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

NLTNew Living Translation

People are born for trouble

as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But a human being is born to trouble,

and they soar aloft like sparks.

KJV 1900King James Version

Yet man is born unto trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.