Ayub 18:5-7

18:5 “Yes, ¹  the lamp ²  of the wicked is extinguished;

his flame of fire ³  does not shine.

18:6 The light in his tent grows dark;

his lamp above him is extinguished. ⁴ 

18:7 His vigorous steps ⁵  are restricted, ⁶ 

and his own counsel throws him down. ⁷ 

[18:5]  ¹ tn Hebrew גַּם (gam, “also; moreover”), in view of what has just been said.

[18:5]  ² sn The lamp or the light can have a number of uses in the Bible. Here it is probably an implied metaphor for prosperity and happiness, for the good life itself.

[18:5]  ³ tn The expression is literally “the flame of his fire,” but the pronominal suffix qualifies the entire bound construction. The two words together intensify the idea of the flame.

[18:6]  ⁴ tn The LXX interprets a little more precisely: “his lamp shall be put out with him.”

[18:6]  sn This thesis of Bildad will be questioned by Job in 21:17 – how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?

[18:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “the steps of his vigor,” the genitive being the attribute.

[18:7]  ⁶ tn The verb צָרַר (tsarar) means “to be cramped; to be straitened; to be hemmed in.” The trouble has hemmed him in, so that he cannot walk with the full, vigorous steps he had before. The LXX has “Let the meanest of men spoil his goods.”

[18:7]  ⁷ tn The LXX has “causes him to stumble,” which many commentators accept; but this involves the transposition of the three letters. The verb is שָׁלַךְ (shalakh, “throw”) not כָּשַׁל (kashal, “stumble”).