Dark with ice: the author is more concerned to create suggestive poetic images than to describe physical realities. An ice-covered stream need not be dark; but poetically dark gives a hint as to the hidden nature of these friends whom Job sees as concealing their true intentions and failing to be honest and open with him. Good News Translation has avoided dark but has used “choked with snow and ice,” which may serve a similar poetic purpose in English.

Where the snow hides itself: hides itself translates a verb which is similar to one used in Exodus 15.8 translated “piled up.” Some take this line to mean “the snow piles up on them,” and New English Bible gives both meanings: “are hidden with piled up snow.” New Jerusalem Bible takes the verb hidden in an active sense, “snow obscures them,” that is, snow hides the stream beds. The translator who is trying to follow the poetic language of the author will pay particular attention to the images, while at the same time keeping to the meaning of the text. There does not appear to be any good reason for departing from the meaning of the Revised Standard Version here. In areas where snow and ice are unknown, it may be necessary to say, for example, “The water in these streams is cold and dark.” If snow is unknown and the term cannot be borrowed from a major language, it may be necessary to shift to something like fog or clouds and say, for example, “and the fog hides them” or “the clouds cover them.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .