There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves means that God’s eyes can penetrate the deepest darkness so that no one is hidden from him. The thought is inspired by Psalm 139.11-12 and Jeremiah 23.24. For a discussion of gloom or deep darkness, see 3.5. Evildoers translates the same Hebrew term as “workers of iniquity” in 31.3. Verse 22 may also be expressed “For God there is no darkness dark enough to keep him from seeing people who do evil” or “The blackest darkness is not sufficient for the evildoer to hide from God.”

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 .