Discovery BoxPsalms 1:4 
Context1:4 Not so with the wicked!
Instead 1 they are like wind-driven chaff. 2
Psalms 18:10
Context18:10 He mounted 3 a winged angel 4 and flew;
he glided 5 on the wings of the wind. 6
Psalms 35:5
Context35:5 May they be 7 like wind-driven chaff,
as the Lord’s angel 8 attacks them! 9
Psalms 83:13
Context83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, 10
like dead weeds blown away by 11 the wind!
Psalms 147:17
Context147:17 He throws his hailstones 12 like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? 13
Psalms 148:8
Context148:8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds, 14
O stormy wind that carries out his orders, 15
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.
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.
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).
3 tn Or “rode upon.”
4 tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.
sn Winged angel (Heb “cherub”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Pss 80:1; 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the
5 tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.
6 sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.
7 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.
8 sn See the mention of the
9 tn Heb “as the
10 tn Or “tumbleweed.” The Hebrew noun גַּלְגַּל (galgal) refers to a “wheel” or, metaphorically, to a whirling wind (see Ps 77:18). If taken in the latter sense here, one could understand the term as a metonymical reference to dust blown by a whirlwind (cf. NRSV “like whirling dust”). However, HALOT 190 s.v. II גַּלְגַּל understands the noun as a homonym referring to a “dead thistle” here and in Isa 17:13. The parallel line, which refers to קַשׁ (qash, “chaff”), favors this interpretation.
11 tn Heb “before.”
12 tn Heb “his ice.”
13 tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”
14 tn In Ps 119:83 the noun refers to “smoke,” but here, where the elements of nature are addressed, the clouds, which resemble smoke, are probably in view.
15 tn Heb “[that] does his word.”
