Psalms 37:35-36

37:35 I have seen ruthless evil men

growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil.

37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared!

I looked for them, but they could not be found.

Isaiah 17:14

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror;

by morning they vanish.

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us!


tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.

tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mitareh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (’arah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (’alah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.

tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).

tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”