He will flee from an iron weapon: translators differ in the way they relate the two lines of this verse to each other. Good News Translation and others make line a a dependent clause, “When he tries to escape…,” “If he flees…” (Dhorme). Revised Standard Version and others form two parallel clauses. Both approaches are possible. Good News Translation follows the pattern found for the same idea expressed in Amos 5.19. Iron weapon is a weapon made of iron. Dhorme takes the word translated weapon to mean “armor of iron,” but “weapon” suits the context better. This line may also be rendered, for example, “He will run away to escape being wounded by an iron weapon,” “If he runs away to escape being struck down by an iron weapon,” or “He will run away to avoid being wounded by a soldier using an iron weapon.”

A bronze arrow will strike him through: the Hebrew has “bow of bronze,” but bows are not made of bronze, and a bronze bow would not shoot an arrow. (See 40.18 for a comment on bronze.) “Bow of bronze” is also used in Psalm 18.34. The poet attributes to the “bow” the effect which is produced by the arrow. Revised Standard Version has shifted to bronze arrow, but Good News Translation has kept “bronze bow.” Bible en français courant translates “a bronze point,” that is, “a bronze arrowhead.” This line may need to be adjusted as in the case of iron weapon to say, for example, “an arrow with a bronze point will hit him” or “an enemy will shoot an arrow with a bronze point into him.” If bronze is unknown, the translator may say “iron” or “metal.”

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 .