Job 9:26 | NET2full | STEP | They glide by like reed boats , like an eagle that swoops down on its prey .

‏ Job 9:26

26 They glide by ^{▼▼tn Heb “they flee.”} like reed ^{▼▼tn The word אֵבֶה (ʾeveh) means “reed, papyrus,” but it is a different word than was in 8:11. What is in view here is a light boat made from bundles of papyrus that glides swiftly along the Nile (cf. Isa 18:2 where papyrus vessels and swiftness are associated).} boats,
like an eagle that swoops ^{▼▼tn The verb יָטוּשׂ (yatus) is also a hapax legomenon; the Aramaic cognate means “to soar; to hover in flight.” The sentence here requires the idea of swooping down while in flight.} down on its prey. ^{▼▼tn Heb “food.”}