Verse 18 is a transition to the final section of chapter 16, in which Job appeals to his witness in heaven.

O earth, cover not my blood: Job is convinced that death is about to cut him off, and he calls on the earth to allow his blood to cry out to God for vindication. A similar thought is in Genesis 4.10, “Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground….” (Good News Translation). As long as the blood is not covered over and hidden, it can cry out (Ezek 24.7). This verse can be compared with Isaiah 26.21b, “And the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her and will no more cover her slain.” The form of the verb translated cover is causative, meaning “hide, conceal.” Good News Translation “Don’t hide the wrongs done to me” is less compelling than the thought demands. Job sees himself as a murder victim whose blood is on the ground. In many languages it will be necessary to restructure this line. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy provides a good model: “This crime against me cries out for justice.” In many languages in which “crime” and “earth” cannot be personalized, we may say, for example, “My blood has been shed; do not keep this secret,” or “I am like a murdered man; this must not be concealed,” or “I am like a man who has been murdered; don’t anyone try to hide this crime.”

And let my cry find no resting place is literally “Do not let a place be for my cry.” Revised Standard Version has supplied resting to qualify place. There are two traditions in the understanding of place. One refers to the place where a person stops to rest temporarily, such as to spend the night, and the other is a place to hide. The parallelism favors the latter as a secret place where someone goes to hide from whatever may be pursuing. It is the cry for justice or vindication which should not go away and be hidden and silenced in a secret place, but remain where its voice can be heard. This line may also have to be expressed differently, since a cry may not be said to seek a hiding place; for example, “do not forbid me from crying out,” “do not let my cry for justice be silenced,” “let no one try to silence my demand for justice,” or “let me cry out and say, ‘God should act fairly with me.’ ”

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 .