Verse 20 begins with the Hebrew letter kaf and proceeds to build up alliteration in lines b and c in the following manner: Ki … kikiqar karim kalu beshan kalu (“But … like the beauty of wild flowers they vanish, like smoke they vanish”).

In this strophe the lot of the wicked is pictured: they will perish, that is, they will die prematurely and in disgrace. They will disappear like the glory of the pastures, that is, like the beautiful wild flowers, under the burning sun (see verse 2); they will disappear like smoke (see 68.2 and 102.3 for the same idea of “smoke” that disappears quickly).

There is no general agreement on the Hebrew phrase translated the glory of the pastures. American Standard Version has “the fat of the lambs”; New English Bible follows a K-B conjecture, “burning ovens”; New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible are like Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation; New Jerusalem Bible has “like meadow grass consumed in smoke.” Anderson proposes “like the best of the he-lambs,” meaning that they are alive and well one day, and the next day are slaughtered for sacrifice (they vanish “in smoke”). The similarity to verse 2 makes it probable that “like wild flowers” is the meaning of line b.20 Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says two interpretations of the Masoretic text of verse 20 are possible: (1) “and the enemies of the LORD, like the best of lambs (that is, their fat), vanish”; (2) “… like the beauty of the pastures (that is, their grass) they vanish, in the smoke they vanish.” It should be noticed that the Masoretic text has “in the smoke” (so New English Bible, Bible en français courant, Bible de Jérusalem); many Hebrew manuscripts (and the Septuagint) have “like smoke”–so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy. In some languages it will be necessary to make the agent explicit, where in Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version vanish and “disappear” appear to be impersonal. In this case the only one who destroys the wicked is God. Therefore one may have to translate “God will destroy the wicked; he will make his enemies vanish like wild flowers; he will make them disappear like smoke.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .