10:8 He waits in ambush near the villages; 1
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim. 2
10:9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; 3
he lies in ambush, waiting to catch 4 the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed 5 by pulling in his net. 6
1 tn Heb “he sits in the ambush of the villages.”
2 tn Heb “his eyes for an unfortunate person lie hidden.” The language may picture a lion (see v. 9) peering out from its hiding place in anticipation that an unsuspecting victim will soon come strolling along.
3 tn Or “in its den.”
4 tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.
5 tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.
6 tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”
sn The background of the imagery is hunting, where the hunter uses a net to entrap an unsuspecting bird or wild animal.