Mazmur 1:4
Konteks1:4 Not so with the wicked!
Instead 1 they are like wind-driven chaff. 2
Mazmur 11:6
Konteks11:6 May the Lord rain down 3 burning coals 4 and brimstone 5 on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve! 6
Mazmur 18:42
Konteks18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; 7
I beat them underfoot 8 like clay 9 in the streets.
Mazmur 35:5
Konteks35:5 May they be 10 like wind-driven chaff,
as the Lord’s angel 11 attacks them! 12
Mazmur 48:7
Konteks48:7 With an east wind
you shatter 13 the large ships. 14
Mazmur 83:13
Konteks83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, 15
like dead weeds blown away by 16 the wind!
Mazmur 103:16
Konteks103:16 but when the hot wind 17 blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
[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.
[1:4] sn Wind-driven chaff. In contrast to the well-rooted and productive tree described in v. 3, the wicked are like a dried up plant that has no root system and is blown away by the wind. The simile describes the destiny of the wicked (see vv. 5-6).
[11:6] 3 tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the
[11:6] 4 tc The MT reads “traps, fire, and brimstone,” but the image of God raining traps, or snares, down from the sky is bizarre and does not fit the fire and storm imagery of this verse. The noun פַּחִים (pakhim, “traps, snares”) should be emended to פַּחֲמֵי (pakhamey, “coals of [fire]”). The rare noun פֶּחָם (pekham, “coal”) occurs in Prov 26:21 and Isa 44:12; 54:16.
[11:6] 5 sn The image of God “raining down” brimstone on the objects of his judgment also appears in Gen 19:24 and Ezek 38:22.
[11:6] 6 tn Heb “[may] a wind of rage [be] the portion of their cup.” The precise meaning of the rare noun זִלְעָפוֹת (zil’afot) is uncertain. It may mean “raging heat” (BDB 273 s.v. זַלְעָפָה) or simply “rage” (HALOT 272 s.v. זַלְעָפָה). If one understands the former sense, then one might translate “hot wind” (cf. NEB, NRSV). The present translation assumes the latter nuance, “a wind of rage” (the genitive is attributive) referring to a “whirlwind” symbolic of destructive judgment. In this mixed metaphor, judgment is also compared to an allotted portion of a beverage poured into one’s drinking cup (see Hab 2:15-16).
[18:42] 7 tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”
[18:42] 8 tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.
[35:5] 10 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.
[35:5] 11 sn See the mention of the
[35:5] 12 tn Heb “as the
[48:7] 13 tn The switch to the imperfect, as well as the introduction of the ship metaphor, perhaps signals a change to a generalizing tone; the
[48:7] 14 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to and from the distant western port of Tarshish. These ships, which were the best of their class, here symbolize the mere human strength of hostile armies, which are incapable of withstanding the
[83:13] 15 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.
[103:16] 17 tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification.