Verse 27 offers two conditions, with the consequences appearing in verses 28 and 29. Job is here addressing his conditions to God. If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint…’: it may be necessary to indicate who is addressed by say, such as “If I say to you, God,” or “God, if I tell you….” Job does not mean that he will forget that he has a complaint against God, but that he will stop voicing it, that is, “I will stop complaining to you.” The second condition is I will put off my sad countenance, which translates the Hebrew “I will leave my face.” This means that Job will give up the look he has been wearing; that is, “I will change the look on my face” or “I will smile.” The word sad does not occur in Hebrew but is implied in the expression. And be of good cheer is literally “brighten (my face).” If Job does these things, the result nevertheless is I become afraid of all my suffering. When Job resolves to cheer up, he is afraid that some new pain will afflict him. The reason for his reaction is for I know thou wilt not hold me innocent; he knows that God does not treat him as an innocent man, does not clear him and acquit him of his crime, whatever crime he is supposed to be guilty of. The final line may be rendered, for example, “I know you will not say ‘Job, you are innocent’ ” or “… ‘Job, you are not guilty.’ ”

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 .