20:7 he will perish forever, like his own excrement; 1
those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’
20:8 Like a dream he flies away, never again to be found, 2
and like a vision of the night he is put to flight.
20:9 People 3 who had seen him will not see him again,
and the place where he was
will recognize him no longer.
1 tn There have been attempts to change the word here to “like a whirlwind,” or something similar. But many argue that there is no reason to remove a coarse expression from Zophar.
2 tn Heb “and they do not find him.” The verb has no expressed subject, and so here is equivalent to a passive. The clause itself is taken adverbially in the sentence.
3 tn Heb “the eye that had seen him.” Here a part of the person (the eye, the instrument of vision) is put by metonymy for the entire person.