Distress and anguish terrify him: the Septuagint transfers “day of darkness” to this line and makes it the subject of terrify him. New English Bible has “Suddenly a black day comes upon him.” The advantage of following the Septuagint is that the remaining six Hebrew words are easily arranged into two more lines which New Jerusalem Bible translates “Distress and anguish assail him as when a king is poised for the assault.” In some languages “darkness” (shifted from verse 23) cannot serve as the subject of terrify. In such cases it may be necessary to say, for example, “He will find himself in darkness and filled with terror” or “Terror will fill him in the darkness.” In the same way distress and anguish may have to become objects of a verb such as “suffer”; for example, “He will suffer from distress and anguish,” that is, from worry and trouble. The entire verse is rendered by Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Darkness will fill him with terror, and anxiety and disgrace will assault him, as when a king attacks in battle.”

Like a king prepared for battle: the comparison is to a king about to lead his army in the attack. The word translated battle occurs only here in the Old Testament, but its meaning in this context has been widely accepted, even in the ancient versions. This line may be rendered, for example, “like a king who leads his army against enemies and makes them suffer.” The comparison of distress and anguish with an attacking king is applied to the person who feels under siege from those difficulties.

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 .