4:11 The mighty lion 1 perishes 2 for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness 3 are scattered.
8:13 Such is the destiny 4 of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless 5 perishes,
18:17 His memory perishes from the earth,
he has no name in the land. 6
1 tn The word לַיִשׁ (layish) traditionally rendered “strong lion,” occurs only here and in Prov 30:30 and Isa 30:6. It has cognates in several of the Semitic languages, and so seems to indicate lion as king of the beasts.
2 tn The form of the verb is the Qal active participle; it stresses the characteristic action of the verb as if a standard universal truth.
3 tn The text literally has “sons of the lioness.”
4 tn The word אָרְחוֹת (’orkhot) means “ways” or “paths” in the sense of tracks of destiny or fate. The word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way, road, path”) is used in a similar way (Isa 40:27; Ps 37:5). However, many commentators emend the text to read אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) in harmony with the LXX. But Prov 1:19 (if not emended as well) confirms the primary meaning here without changing the text (see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 199).
5 tn The word חָנֵף (khanef) is often translated “hypocrite.” But the root verb means “to be profane,” and this would be done by idolatry or bloodshed. It describes an irreligious person, a godless person. In Dan 11:32 the word seems to mean “make someone pagan.” The word in this verse is parallel to “those who forget God.”
6 tn Heb “outside.” Cf. ESV, “in the street,” referring to absence from his community’s memory.