118:12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly 1 as a fire among thorns. 2
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
1:31 The powerful will be like 3 a thread of yarn,
their deeds like a spark;
both will burn together,
and no one will put out the fire.
1 tn Heb “were extinguished.”
2 tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (do’akhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru, “they burned”). In this case the statement emphasizes their hostility.
3 tn Heb “will become” (so NASB, NIV).