I will say to God, Do not condemn me: Job begins the rehearsal of his charges, the words he would say to God in a lawsuit. In 9.27-28 Job said that if he dropped his complaint against God, God would still not find him guiltless. Now he has moved to the point of telling God what his complaints are, knowing full well that it will do no good. At least his friends will hear it all. Job, as well as his friends, assumes that God holds him guilty. In 9.29 Job says “I shall be condemned.” There is no umpire or judge to weigh his complaints against God, as he said in 9.33. Job, without any means of appeal, can only ask that he be heard before being judged as guilty, that is, before being condemned. This line may also be translated, for example, “I will say to God ‘Do not judge me guilty,’ ” “… ‘Do not find me in the wrong,’ ” or positively, “I will say to God ‘Judge me innocent.’ ”

Let me know why thou dost contend against me: Job does not want to be condemned in advance, at least not until he knows the reason; and so he asks God to specify the charges God has against him. This line may also be expressed, for example, “Tell me what wrongs you accuse me of,” “Let me hear what the charges against me are,” or “Show me why you accuse me of wrong doing.”

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 .