OET interlinear JOB 18:9

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יֹאחֵ֣ז בְּ⁠עָקֵ֣ב פָּ֑ח יַחֲזֵ֖ק עָלָ֣י⁠ו צַמִּֽים

seizes in/on/at/with,heel trap lays_hold on/upon/above=him/it snare

Bildad is continuing to speak of a wicked person as if he would literally be caught in a snare or trap. If you decided in the previous verse to express the meaning of this image rather than retain it in your translation, you could restate the meaning here. Alternate translation: “Yes, a wicked person will not be able to succeed; he will fail because of all the trouble that he causes for himself”

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

יֹאחֵ֣ז בְּ⁠עָקֵ֣ב פָּ֑ח

seizes in/on/at/with,heel trap

A snare was a device that people in this culture used to catch birds. It consisted of a loose loop of cord. A hunter would put seeds or other bait inside the loop. When a bird came inside the loop to eat the bait, the hunter would pull on the cord and catch the bird by its feet. A snare might also have a mechanism that a bird would trigger automatically by stepping inside the loop. Bildad is speaking as if this would happen to a wicked person, so that he would be caught by the heel. If your readers would not be familiar with what a snare is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture, or you could use a general expression. Alternate translation: “He will step into a device that will seize his foot”

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

צַמִּֽים

snare

By trap, Bildad means some other device for catching birds or animals. Interpreters are unsure exactly what this device is. The word Bildad uses suggests the idea of braiding, and so this could be a net of some kind. Alternate translation: “a net”