I came across an interesting translation change today for Job 42:11 between the original 1977 version of the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the 1995 update.

In the original version it read,

Then all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all who had known him before, came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and the consoled him and comforted him for the all the evil that the LORD had brought on him. And each one gave him one piece of money, and a ring of gold.

I happened to note that in the 1995 update to the NASB, "evil" has been changed to "adversities" making the sentence "...they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the LORD had brought on him" [emphasis added].

In the Hebrew, the word is ra'a meaning "evil, calamity, misfortune" (KB). The change in translation is legitimate and a reflection of the translators' theology. It's one thing to say that God caused Job misfortune; it's another thing to say he caused him evil.

However, ra'a can also be translated "chaos." Perhaps, in light of Job's misfortunes, this would be an accurate way to characterize his circumstances. Of course, some might argue that Yahweh is the God of shalom/peace, the very opposite of ra'a/chaos. Regardless, the verse says what it says in the original Hebrew.

Interestingly, the translators of the LXX (2nd cent. BC) avoided the issue altogether by not translating ra'a at all and making the passage essentially read, "...they comforted him and marveled at all the Lord had brought upon him... ."

As way of reference, here are how other translations handle ra'a in this verse:
"evil" = ESV, NRSV
"adversity" = HCSB
"trouble" = The Message, NET, NIV
"trials" = NLT