Mazmur 1:4

1:4 Not so with the wicked!

Instead ¹  they are like wind-driven chaff. ² 

Mazmur 21:9-10

21:9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace ³  when you appear; ⁴ 

the Lord angrily devours them; ⁵ 

the fire consumes them.

21:10 You destroy their offspring ⁶  from the earth,

their descendants ⁷  from among the human race. ⁸ 

[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).

[21:9]  ³ tn Heb “you make them like a furnace of fire.” Although many modern translations retain the literal Hebrew, the statement is elliptical. The point is not that he makes them like a furnace, but like an object burned in a furnace (cf. NEB, “at your coming you shall plunge them into a fiery furnace”).

[21:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “at the time of your face.” The “face” of the king here refers to his angry presence. See Lam 4:16.

[21:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord, in his anger he swallows them, and fire devours them.” Some take “the Lord” as a vocative, in which case he is addressed in vv. 8-9a. But this makes the use of the third person in v. 9b rather awkward, though the king could be the subject (see vv. 1-7).

[21:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.

[21:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “seed.”

[21:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “sons of man.”