His strong steps are shortened: the wicked man is portrayed as taking short steps compared to the long confident strides he took before. Good News Translation shows this process: “His steps were firm, but now….” Strong steps translates “steps of his vigor” and refers to his confident way of walking. Bible en français courant says “His confident gait will become hesitant,” which reflects the Hebrew better than Good News Translation “stumbles.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “His firm step will lose its strength.” This line may also be rendered, for example, “He no longer walks with confidence” or “He now takes short steps in order not to stumble.”

And his own schemes throw him down: schemes translates a word meaning “counsel, advice” in the positive sense, and is different from the word Job used in 17.11: “My plans are broken off.” Throw him down is rendered by the Septuagint as “cause him to stumble,” which is preferred by many. Good News Translation uses “stumbles” in the first line and “falls” as completing the process here. “Victim of his own advice” expresses the idea well. The line may also be rendered, for example, “the advice he gives to others causes him to fall,” “the words he gives to others make him stumble,” or “what he tells others to do makes him fail in his own plans.”

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 .