Job 27:18

The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, ¹  like a hut ²  that a watchman has made.

The house he builds is like a moth’s cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman.

"He has built his house like the spider’s web, Or as a hut which the watchman has made.

The houses built by the wicked are as fragile as a spiderweb, as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.

They build elaborate houses that won't survive a single winter.

His house has no more strength than a spider’s thread, or a watchman’s tent.

They build their houses like nests, like booths made by sentinels of the vineyard.

He builds his house like a moth, Like a booth which a watchman makes.

The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, ¹  like a hut ²  that a watchman has made.

¹ tn Heb כָעָשׁ (kha’ash, “like a moth”), but this leaves room for clarification. Some commentators wanted to change it to “bird’s nest” or just “nest” (cf. NRSV) to make the parallelism; see Job 4:14. But the word is not found. The LXX has a double expression, “as moths, as a spider.” So several take it as the spider’s web, which is certainly unsubstantial (cf. NAB, NASB, NLT; see Job 8:14).

² tn The Hebrew word is the word for “booth,” as in the Feast of Booths. The word describes something that is flimsy; it is not substantial at all.