A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him.
Parallel translations
- WEB A snare will take him by the heel. A trap will catch him.
- KJV The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him.
- NKJV The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him.
- NASB “A snare seizes him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him.
- NLT A trap grabs them by the heel. A snare holds them tight.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A snare seizes the wicked man by the heel and a trap holds him fast. He is firmly caught and cannot escape.
Overview
Bildad continues the imagery of traps, with the godless gripped by the heel and held by a snare. The piling up of hunting terms stresses how completely judgment overtakes him. The relentless picture underscores the friends' conviction that the wicked cannot evade their fate, a partial truth that nevertheless fails to account for Job's righteous suffering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Job 5:5The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
- Isa 8:14–15And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
- Job 1:15the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- Job 1:17While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 18:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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