OET interlinear JOB 27:18

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

בָּנָ֣ה כָ⁠עָ֣שׁ בֵּית֑⁠וֹ וּ֝⁠כְ⁠סֻכָּ֗ה עָשָׂ֥ה נֹצֵֽר

(Some words not found in UHB: builds like,moth house_of,his and,like,a_shelter he/it_had_made watchman )

The point of these comparisons is that the house of a moth, that is, its cocoon, is very fragile, as is a hut that a guard would build in a field out of branches to watch over crops during harvest time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: [The house that he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, as rickety as a hut that a guard would build out of branches]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בָּנָ֣ה כָ⁠עָ֣שׁ בֵּית֑⁠וֹ וּ֝⁠כְ⁠סֻכָּ֗ה עָשָׂ֥ה נֹצֵֽר

(Some words not found in UHB: builds like,moth house_of,his and,like,a_shelter he/it_had_made watchman )

While the actual house of a wicked person might become abandoned and collapse from neglect, Job could be using the term house to represent the life of that person. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [The life that he creates for himself is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, as rickety as a hut that a guard would build from branches]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

בָּנָ֣ה כָ⁠עָ֣שׁ בֵּית֑⁠וֹ

(Some words not found in UHB: builds like,moth house_of,his and,like,a_shelter he/it_had_made watchman )

A moth is a flying insect that is typically active at night. It begins life as a wingless larva. The larva eventually spins a silk cocoon around itself, and inside that cocoon, it changes into a flying moth. If your readers would not be familiar with what a moth is, in your translation you could use the name of a comparable creature that your readers would recognize and that similarly builds a fragile structure. The UST models one way to do this.