These two verses need to be discussed together. In verse 3 Job said that he could not find God. Now he tells how he has searched for him in all directions. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there: for Behold see 4.18; 12.14; 13.15. Forward in line a describes a person facing the east, and backward in line b to one facing west. Here we have an example of the standard Hebrew way of telling directions, or what modern people call the four points of the compass. Before him is the direction “east,” and in back of him is “west.” To his left is “north” and to his right is “south.” Good News Translation is correct, therefore, in translating “I have searched in the east.” The sense of going forward or to the “east” is “searching in the east” or “If I look for him in the east.” The negative consequence is “I do not find him in that direction.” In some languages the directions in this line may be rendered, for example, “But if I look for God where the sun rises” or “… at the headwaters of the river.”

And backward, but I cannot perceive him: “even looking for him in the west I have not seen him.” The verb must be supplied from line a. Languages that designate “east” as “where the sun rises” often designate “west” as “where the sun dies, sets, sinks, or falls off.”

On the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him: the Revised Standard Version footnote shows that the Hebrew says “on the left hand when he works,” which Good News Translation translates “God has been at work in the north….” Revised Standard Version follows Syriac in changing the verb “work” to mean “I seek him,” the subject now being Job, not God. There does not seem to be any compelling reason to depart from the Hebrew text, and so Good News Translation, which has joined the two lines of verse 9, is recommended.

I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him: the Revised Standard Version footnote shows that the Hebrew has “he turns….” Revised Standard Version follows the Syriac and Vulgate in changing this to I turn. Another verb which has the same consonants means “cover,” as used in Psalm 104.2 “who coverest thyself with light as with a garment.” Gordis accepts this sense, “He is hidden in the south,” and Bible en français courant does likewise, translating with a question. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project accepts the two meanings “turn” and “hide.” Good News Translation combines “he turns to the south” with the previous line as “at work in the north and the south.” A fuller rendering is “When he turns to the south, I cannot see him.” Some translators may find that verses 8 and 9 are better expressed by joining them into a single sentence. This may be done by placing the verse numbers 8 and 9 before verse 8 and translating in summary fashion; for example, “I have searched for God in every direction, and still I have not found him.” If translators employ the directions for “east” and “west” in verse 8, they should continue with the expressions for “north” and “south” in verse 9.

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 .