Will God hear his cry, when trouble comes upon him?: this rhetorical question anticipates a negative reply and may also be translated as a negative statement, “God will certainly not hear.” His cry means “his cry for help” or “when he cries for help.” Trouble translates the same word used in 5.19. See there for comments. For stylistic reasons Good News Translation reverses the two clauses. Him refers to the godless person in verse 8a. Verse 9 may also be rendered, for example, “When times of distress come, will God hear his cry for help? Certainly not!”

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 .