For that would be a heinous crime: Dhorme omits this verse, assuming that it is a comment added by later copyists. New English Bible prints both verse 11 and verse 12 between brackets for the same reason. That refers back to the content of verse 9, not to verse 10. The word translated heinous crime is used especially in connection with sexual crimes in Leviticus 18.17; 20.14; Judges 20.6. New Jerusalem Bible translates it as “a sin of lust.”

That would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges: this expression is almost identical to that in verse 28b. Punished by the judges probably refers to a crime that must be submitted to the judges for decision. The word translated judges is the same as used in Exodus 21.22; Deuteronomy 32.31. Good News Translation, which reduces this verse to a single line, translates “should be punished by death.” The basis for this rendering is that in Old Testament thought the penalty was to be death, as in Leviticus 20.10. Most translations stay closer to the Hebrew and translate something like “Doing that would be a crime; it would be an offense to be punished by the law.”

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 .