Job now concludes his speech by asking them to face him honestly and stop trying to deceive him. He is a righteous sufferer and wants them to accept him as such.

But now, be pleased to look at me: Job is not asking them to look at him and be pleased with what they see, but rather to “be so good as to look at me,” “please look at me.” New Jerusalem Bible has “Be so good as to face me.” In Hebrew the verb “face” in line a is matched by the noun “face” in line b. Good News Translation “Look me in the face” is abrupt but gives the meaning. The two lines are not parallel apart from the matching of “face” in both. Line b is something of a consequence of line a. I will not lie to your face: Revised Standard Version uses the word face in line b only, perhaps to avoid repetition. Job is appealing for an open and sincere communication in which they will look each other in the eye. Translators should not attempt to preserve “face” in both lines unless it is perfectly natural.

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 .