13:3a–d

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

3a Therefore they will be like the morning mist,

3b like the early dew that vanishes,

3c like chaff blown from a threshing floor,

3d like smoke through an open window.

There is an ellipsis (deliberate omission) of the first three words in 13:3b–d. In many languages, these words will need to be supplied from 13:3a. For example:

3b
⌊ they will be⌋like the early dew that vanishes.

3c
⌊ they will be⌋like chaff blown from a threshing floor,

3d
⌊ they will be⌋like smoke through an open window.

These lines contain four figures of speech (similes) that compare the people to temporary things. In a short time, they will quickly and completely disappear. The repetition of these similar lines gives emphasis to this consequence of their idolatry.

Here are some ways to translate these similes:

• Make explicit that it is the people who will disappear. For example:

So those people will be like the morning mist; they will disappear like the morning dew. (New Century Version)

• Shorten and combine parts of the lines. For example:

And so, all of you will vanish like the mist or the dew of early morning, or husks of grain in the wind or smoke from a chimney. (Contemporary English Version)

13:3a

Therefore: This word introduces the consequence of their ongoing sin of making idols and kissing calves.

Here are some other ways to translate it:

So (New Century Version)

or

That is why (God’s Word)

like the morning mist: The phrase the morning mist probably refers to low-lying clouds or fog that disappears by the time the morning is over.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the morning cloud (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
like fog in the morning (God’s Word)

13:3b

like the early dew that vanishes: This phrase refers to water droplets that collect on plant leaves in the early morning. It evaporates quickly. In some languages, it may be redundant to make the word early explicit.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the dew that quickly disappears (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
like dew in the morning sun (New Living Translation (2004))

13:3c

like chaff blown from a threshing floor: This phrase refers to the husks and dust that remain behind after a farmer threshes grain. The wind carries it off. The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as blown means to be blown away by a strong wind.

13:3d

like smoke through an open window: This phrase probably refers to smoke from cooking fires or burning lamps that escapes through an opening in the wall.

window: The Hebrew word for window is literally “hole in the wall.” The word meaning does not indicate which part of the wall has the hole. It may be in the upper part of the wall near the roof or elsewhere.

Many versions translate the word as window. Some, such as the Good News Translation, translate it as “chimney.” Note, however, that the Hebrew word does not refer to the kind of window or chimney that is common in modern buildings. Translate this with a word or phrase in your language that best fits the meaning of a hole in the wall through which smoke passes.

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