Psalm 37/Notes/Phrasal.v. 20.677613

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There is a textual problem in v. 20c regarding the phrase translated like smoke (*כֶעָשָׁן*). Some translations read the text as כֶעָשָׁן ("like smoke"), while other translations read the text as בֶעָשָׁן ("in smoke"). See grammar notes for a detailed discussion. The beth preposition of the MT is best analyzed as a beth essentiae: "they will vanish as smoke."