Psalms 37:20

37:20 But ¹  evil men will die;

the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated ²  –

they will go up in smoke. ³ 

Isaiah 9:18

9:18 For ⁴  evil burned like a fire, ⁵ 

it consumed thorns and briers;

it burned up the thickets of the forest,

and they went up in smoke. ⁶ 

Hosea 13:3

13:3 Therefore they will disappear like ⁷  the morning mist, ⁸ 

like early morning dew that evaporates, ⁹ 

like chaff that is blown away ¹⁰  from a threshing floor,

like smoke that disappears through an open window.

[37:20]  ¹ tn Or “for,” but Hebrew כי in this case would have to extend all the way back to v. 17a. Another option is to understand the particle as asseverative, “surely” (see v. 22).

[37:20]  ² tc The meaning of the MT (כִּיקַר כָּרִים [kiqar karim], “like what is precious among the pastures/rams”) is uncertain. One possibility is to take the noun כָּרִים as “pastures” and interpret “what is precious” as referring to flowers that blossom but then quickly disappear (see v. 2 and BDB 430 s.v. יָקָר 3). If כָּרִים is taken as “rams,” then “what is precious” might refer to the choicest portions of rams. The present translation follows a reading in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpPs37), כיקוד כורם (“like the burning of an oven”). The next line, which pictures the Lord’s enemies being consumed in smoke, supports this reading, which assumes confusion of the Hebrew letters resh (ר) and dalet (ד) at the end of the first word in the sequence.

[37:20]  ³ tn Heb “they perish in smoke, they perish.” In addition to repeating the verb for emphasis, the psalmist uses the perfect form of the verb to picture the enemies’ demise as if it had already taken place. In this way he draws attention to the certitude of their judgment.

[9:18]  ⁴ tn Or “Indeed” (cf. NIV “Surely”). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[9:18]  ⁵ sn Evil was uncontrollable and destructive, and so can be compared to a forest fire.

[9:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they swirled [with] the rising of the smoke” (cf. NRSV).

[13:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “they will be like” (so NASB, NIV).

[13:3]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “like the early rising dew that goes away”; TEV “like the dew that vanishes early in the day.”

[13:3]  ¹⁰ 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.).