When his lamp shone upon my head: Revised Standard Version begins verses 2b, 3a, 4b, 5a, 6a, and 7a with when, which translates the Hebrew form. However, this repetition creates a monotonous style in English. Therefore Good News Translation varies these constructions. Translators should consider the stylistic effect of a repeated structure and vary it if necessary. God’s lamp in line a and light in line b are images which represent God’s blessing and guidance. The same pair is used in 2 Samuel 22.29, “Yea, thou art my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness.” See also Psalm 18.28; 36.9. Lamp refers to a stone or pottery bowl with olive oil for fuel, and with a wick which absorbs and burns the oil. Upon my head gives the impression of the light being focused on Job’s head. Most take it to mean “over my head, above my head, above me.” Good News Translation avoids the parallelism of lamp and light and expresses this line as “God was always with me then,” which gives the thought in prose terms and without the poetic imagery. If translators are translating as poetry and the images of lamp and light will not be clear, they may make the meaning clear in the text, substitute other images, or follow Good News Translation. The first approach may be, for example, “When God blessed me by shining his lamp on my way.” The second solution may be “When God cleared the branches from my path.”

And by his light I walked through darkness: by his light is to be taken as “by means of his light,” “in his light,” or “in the light he provides”; so the line can be expressed as “He guided me through the dark with his 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 .