If it is a contest of strength, behold him!: in the first line of this verse Job expresses the impossibility of matching his strength with that of God. By changing the Hebrew hinneh “behold” to hu “he,” some interpreters translate “If it is a question of strength, he (God) is the mighty one”; that is, “If it is a contest between my strength and God’s, God is the stronger one.” It is best to retain the Hebrew text and translate, for example, “If it is a contest of strength, God says, ‘Here I am.’ ”

The second line of the verse, which also begins with an “if” clause, has in Hebrew the question “who will appoint me a time?” The sense here is probably “a time to appear in court.” Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation follow the Septuagint and Syriac, which have “summon him” instead of “summon me,” and so Good News Translation has “make him (God) go (to court).” It is recommended that translators follow the Hebrew in the form of a question, “Who can cause me to meet (him) at the appointed time?” This may be rendered “Who would take charge of my trial?” or “Who would set a time for my case to be heard?”

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 .