Isaiah 29:5

29:5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,

the horde of tyrants ¹  like chaff that is blown away.

It will happen suddenly, in a flash.

Isaiah 41:15-16

41:15 “Look, I am making you like ²  a sharp threshing sledge,

new and double-edged. ³ 

You will thresh the mountains and crush them;

you will make the hills like straw. ⁴ 

41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;

the wind will scatter them.

You will rejoice in the Lord;

you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

Job 21:18

21:18 How often ⁵  are they like straw before the wind,

and like chaff swept away ⁶  by a whirlwind?

Psalms 1:4

1:4 Not so with the wicked!

Instead ⁷  they are like wind-driven chaff. ⁸ 

Psalms 35:5

35:5 May they be ⁹  like wind-driven chaff,

as the Lord’s angel ¹⁰  attacks them! ¹¹ 

Psalms 83:13-15

83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, ¹² 

like dead weeds blown away by ¹³  the wind!

83:14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,

or the flames that consume the mountainsides, ¹⁴ 

83:15 chase them with your gale winds,

and terrify ¹⁵  them with your windstorm.

Daniel 2:35

2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction ¹⁶  and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth.

Hosea 13:3

13:3 Therefore they will disappear like ¹⁷  the morning mist, ¹⁸ 

like early morning dew that evaporates, ¹⁹ 

like chaff that is blown away ²⁰  from a threshing floor,

like smoke that disappears through an open window.

[29:5]  ¹ tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”

[41:15]  ² tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”

[41:15]  ³ tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.

[41:15]  ⁴ sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.

[21:18]  ⁵ tn To retain the sense that the wicked do not suffer as others, this verse must either be taken as a question or a continuation of the question in v. 17.

[21:18]  ⁶ tn The verb used actually means “rob.” It is appropriate to the image of a whirlwind suddenly taking away the wisp of straw.

[1:4]  ⁷ 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.

[1:4]  ⁸ 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.

[35:5]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.

[35:5]  ¹⁰ sn See the mention of the Lord’s angel in Ps 34:7.

[35:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “as the Lord’s angel pushes [them].”

[83:13]  ¹² tn Or “tumbleweed.” The Hebrew noun גַּלְגַּל (galgal) refers to a “wheel” or, metaphorically, to a whirling wind (see Ps 77:18). If taken in the latter sense here, one could understand the term as a metonymical reference to dust blown by a whirlwind (cf. NRSV “like whirling dust”). However, HALOT 190 s.v. II גַּלְגַּל understands the noun as a homonym referring to a “dead thistle” here and in Isa 17:13. The parallel line, which refers to קַשׁ (qash, “chaff”), favors this interpretation.

[83:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “before.”

[83:14]  ¹⁴ sn The imagery of fire and flames suggests unrelenting, destructive judgment.

[83:15]  ¹⁵ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 15 express the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[2:35]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “as one.” For the meaning “without distinction” see the following: F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 36, §64, and p. 93; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 60.

[13:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they will be like” (so NASB, NIV).

[13:3]  ¹⁸ tn The phrase כְּעֲנַן־בֹּקֶר (kÿ’anan-boqer, “like a cloud of the morning”) occurs also in Hos 6:4 in a similar simile. The Hebrew poets and prophets refer to morning clouds as a simile for transitoriness (Job 7:9; Isa 44:22; Hos 6:4; 13:3; HALOT 858 s.v. עָנָן 1.b; BDB 778 s.v. עָנָן 1.c).

[13:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “like the early rising dew that goes away”; TEV “like the dew that vanishes early in the day.”

[13:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “storm-driven away”; KJV, ASV “driven with the whirlwind out.” The verb יְסֹעֵר (yÿso’er, Poel imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from סָעַר, sa’ar, “to storm”) often refers to the intense action of strong, raging storm winds (e.g., Jonah 1:11, 13). The related nouns refer to “heavy gale,” “storm wind,” and “high wind” (BDB 704 s.v. סָעַר; HALOT 762 s.v. סער). The verb is used figuratively to describe the intensity of God’s destruction of the wicked whom he will “blow away” (Isa 54:11; Hos 13:3; Hab 3:14; Zech 7:14; BDB 704 s.v.; HALOT 762 s.v.).