They make night into day: translators differ greatly on who or what makes night into day. Good News Translation assumes that Job refers here to his friends (“My friends say…”), and this is probably best. The idea is that the friends who pretend night is day would deceive Job into thinking in their confused manner. Bible en français courant translates it well: “If I believe my friends, my night will be day.” This is better than Revised Standard Version They, which can refer only to elements of verse 11. New English Bible prefers to use a passive with no subject indicated, “Day is turned into night.” The line may also be expressed “My friends say that night is day” or “My friends do not know night from day.”

‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness’: they say is supplied by Revised Standard Version, making it refer to the friends. There are variants of this verse, but Hebrew Old Testament Text Project regards the Hebrew text as an “A” reading and suggests translating both lines “They claim that night is the day and that light is near although I am confronted with darkness.” This requires supplying “they claim,” as in they say, and “although I am” in line b. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project‘s recommendation is essentially Good News Translation‘s rendering and is recommended to translators. Verse 12 may also be rendered, for example, “When it is night, my friends claim it is daylight; when it is growing dark, they claim it is getting light.”

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 .