No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up: fierce translates a word that usually means “cruel,” but most take it here to refer to Leviathan, where fierce is more suitable. Revised Standard Version makes it apply to Leviathan’s opponent, which is less likely. The Hebrew of this line implies a negative question, “Is he not fierce…?” Good News Translation has switched to a statement: “When he is aroused….” New English Bible expresses the line as an exclamation: “How fierce he is when he is roused!” Stir him up translates the same verb used in 3.8, where there is another reference to stirring up Leviathan.

The question Who … can stand before me? is taken by some to mean “before God” and by others to mean “before Leviathan.” Most Hebrew manuscripts have “before me,” as in Revised Standard Version, but a number of manuscripts have “before him,” as in Good News Translation. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project favors the reading followed by Revised Standard Version. In general it may be said that translations which agree with Revised Standard Version‘s rendering interpret the adjective in the first line as referring to Leviathan’s opponents, the meaning of the whole verse being “No one is daring enough to challenge Leviathan, so how can anyone dare to challenge God?” On the other hand, those who read the same Hebrew text as does Good News Translation understand the adjective in the first line as referring to Leviathan: “He is so fierce when he is aroused that nobody would dare to face up to him.” Since there is good manuscript evidence for both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, either may be recommended. Some translators may prefer to follow a widely-used translation in the language area.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .