He delivers the innocent man: both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation call attention to the difficulty of the Hebrew text of this verse. The problem centers on the innocent man, which most likely means “not innocent” as it stands. In this sense the meaning would be that God rescues, delivers the “man who is not innocent”; that is, Job, who is guilty. God delivers him because his hands are clean. Even though Job is not innocent, God would save him because he does what is right. Many scholars change the Hebrew word translated “not” by the addition of a consonant to get “man,” and so Revised Standard Version innocent man. This is one of the possibilities recommended by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. This sense seems to agree with the trend of Eliphaz’s thought. When Job has clean hands, that is, when he does what is right, he is no longer sinning and God will rescue him. Good News Translation makes the reference to Job clear with “He will rescue you if you are innocent.” It is necessary to make clear the relation of 30a to 30b, and this may be done in some languages by making line a a dependent clause; for example, “Since God rescues the innocent person” or “Because God rescues the innocent person from evil.”

You will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands: cleanness of your hands is parallel with innocent in the previous line and has the meaning of being innocent of doing wrong, not guilty of living in a bad way, and so “doing the right thing.” (See 2 Sam 22.21; Psa 18.20, 24.) The main clause of verse 30 may be translated, for example, “He will rescue you if you are not guilty.” Verse 30 may be expressed, for example, “Because God saves the person who is innocent of wrong doing, he will save you if you are not guilty.” The verse may also be expressed “If you are not guilty, God will rescue you from evil, because God saves people who are not guilty of doing wrong.”

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 .