68:2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. 1
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
1:4 Not so with the wicked!
Instead 2 they are like wind-driven chaff. 3
1 tn Heb “as smoke is scattered, you scatter [them].”
2 tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead,” cf. v. 2) introduces a contrast between the prosperity of the godly depicted in v. 3 and the destiny of the wicked described in v. 4.
3 tn Heb “[they are] like the chaff which [the] wind blows about.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action described.