21:30 that the evil man is spared
from the day of his misfortune,
that he is delivered 2
from the day of God’s wrath?
8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked,
nor will they 3 prolong their 4 days like a shadow, 5
because they 6 do not stand in fear 7 before God.
1 tn Heb “plunderers.”
2 tn The verb means “to be led forth.” To be “led forth in the day of trouble” means to be delivered.
3 tn Heb “he.”
4 tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
5 tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.
6 tn Heb “he.”
7 tn Heb “they do not fear.”