4:12 Although an assailant may overpower 1 one person,
two can withstand him.
Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.
8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked,
nor will they 2 prolong their 3 days like a shadow, 4
because they 5 do not stand in fear 6 before God.
1 tn The verbal root תקף means “to overpower; to prevail over” e.g., Job 14:20; 15:24; Eccl 4:12; 6:10 (HALOT 1786 s.v. תקף).
2 tn Heb “he.”
3 tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
4 tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.
5 tn Heb “he.”
6 tn Heb “they do not fear.”