Psalms 118:12

They surrounded me like bees. But they disappeared as quickly ¹  as a fire among thorns. ²  Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.

De 1:44; 1Sa 17:45; 2Sa 23:6; 1Ch 14:10,11,14-16; 2Ch 14:11,12; 2Ch 16:7-9; 2Ch 20:17-22; 2Ch 22:7,8; Ps 8:9; Ps 20:1,5; Ps 83:14,15; Ec 7:6; Isa 27:4; Na 1:10

¹ tn Heb “were extinguished.”

² tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (do’akhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru, “they burned”). In this case the statement emphasizes their hostility.