There is no umpire between us: as the Revised Standard Version footnote says, this expression can be read “Would that there were,” meaning “I wish there were.” This is the rendering of the Septuagint and the Syriac. Job seems to be seeking reconciliation at this point and wishes there were an umpire, arbiter, or mediator between him and God. Good News Translation avoids these noun forms and uses “no one to step between us.” Job cannot go to court with God because there is no judge to decide between him and God. Umpire may also be rendered, for example, “a person to decide who is right” or “someone to hear our arguments and decide who is right.” Who might lay his hand upon us both: the idea is that the judge lays his hands on (takes hold of) both parties in a dispute, and so exercises his authority over both. The same expression of God acting with authority is found in Psalm 139.5, “Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.” The whole verse may be restructured to say, for example, “I wish there were someone to listen to both of us, someone who had authority over us.”

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 .