With verse 14 Job begins to reveal those secrets which God has had in his mind. If I sin, thou dost mark me: Revised Standard Version does not make clear the conditional nature of the “if” clause, which is brought out by Good News Translation, “If I would sin,” or New English Bible, “If I sinned, thou wouldst be watching me.” Mark translates the same verb rendered “preserved” in verse 12. It means to guard or watch. In verse 12 it was used positively, but here its sense is “spy on,” “keep a close watch on,” “keep an eye on.” The line may be rendered, for example, “You were spying on me to see if I would sin” or “You kept your eye on me, waiting for me to do something evil.”

And dost not acquit me of my iniquity: line b takes the thought of line a further. In 7.21 Job inquires why God does not pardon his sin. The word translated iniquity is the same as used in 10.6 and means the same as “sin.” Acquit translates the same verb as in 9.28 rendered by Revised Standard Version “hold me innocent.” Job looks upon God as the watcher of people, who is concerned with catching them in their sins.

Good News Translation has restructured the verse as a statement in line a followed by a purpose in line b that he accuses God of having: “so that you could refuse to forgive me.” If the translator follows the Good News Translation logical sequence, line b may also be expressed “so that you could accuse me of doing evil” or “in order to hold me guilty for my sin.”

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 .