Psalms 1:4

1:4 Not so with the wicked!

Instead ¹  they are like wind-driven chaff. ² 

Psalms 83:13-17

83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, ³ 

like dead weeds blown away by ⁴  the wind!

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

or the flames that consume the mountainsides, ⁵ 

83:15 chase them with your gale winds,

and terrify ⁶  them with your windstorm.

83:16 Cover ⁷  their faces with shame,

so they might seek ⁸  you, ⁹  O Lord.

83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! ¹⁰ 

May they die in shame! ¹¹ 

Job 21:18

21:18 How often ¹²  are they like straw before the wind,

and like chaff swept away ¹³  by a whirlwind?

Isaiah 17:13

17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, ¹⁴ 

when he shouts at ¹⁵  them, they will flee to a distant land,

driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,

or like dead thistles ¹⁶  before a strong gale.

Isaiah 29:5

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

the horde of tyrants ¹⁷  like chaff that is blown away.

It will happen suddenly, in a flash.

Hosea 13:3

13:3 Therefore they will disappear like ¹⁸  the morning mist, ¹⁹ 

like early morning dew that evaporates, ²⁰ 

like chaff that is blown away ²¹  from a threshing floor,

like smoke that disappears through an open window.

[1:4]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[83:13]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “before.”

[83:14]  ⁵ sn The imagery of fire and flames suggests unrelenting, destructive judgment.

[83:15]  ⁶ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 15 express the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[83:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “fill.”

[83:16]  ⁸ tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose or result (“then they will seek”).

[83:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “your name,” which stands here for God’s person.

[83:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.

[83:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.

[21:18]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn The verb used actually means “rob.” It is appropriate to the image of a whirlwind suddenly taking away the wisp of straw.

[17:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”

[17:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

[17:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”

[29:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”

[13:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they will be like” (so NASB, NIV).

[13:3]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “like the early rising dew that goes away”; TEV “like the dew that vanishes early in the day.”

[13:3]  ²¹ 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.).