The original Hebrew word thus translated is understood to designate coarse, short fibers of flax. Tow will burn readily. When Delilah bound Samson with moist sinews, he easily tore them in two, “just as a twisted thread of tow is torn in two when it smells fire.” (Jg 16:8, 9) Jehovah decreed that among his ancient people the wicked and their works would perish together, saying: “The vigorous man will certainly become tow, and the product of his activity a spark; and both of them will certainly go up in flames at the same time, with no one to do the extinguishing.”​—Isa 1:24, 31.