But when I looked for good, evil came: looked for is to be taken in the sense of “expected, looked forward to, hoped for.” Good is “good fortune” or “happiness,” as in Good News Translation, and is symbolized by light in the next line. Good News Translation shifts light from the next line to say “I hoped for happiness and light.”

And when I waited for light, darkness came: waited translates a different verb in this line, but it has the same meaning as looked for in line a. Darkness symbolizes evil, which may best be taken in this context as “misfortune” or “misery” in contrast to “happiness.” Good News Translation takes evil from line a and associates it with darkness in line b: “but trouble and darkness came instead.” Job’s upright life gave him reason to expect happiness, while the friends, on their side, argued that turning away from his sin would return happiness or good fortune to him. The line may be expressed, for example, “I expected to have happiness, but got misery instead,” “I hoped for good fortune, but got nothing but unhappiness,” or “I hoped I would be happy, but I was always in trouble.”

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 .