Mazmur 10:17-18

10:17 Lord, you have heard ¹  the request ²  of the oppressed;

you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. ³ 

10:18 You defend ⁴  the fatherless and oppressed, ⁵ 

so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them. ⁶ 

Mazmur 12:5

12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ⁷ 

because of the painful cries ⁸  of the needy,

I will spring into action,” ⁹  says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 58:10-11

58:10 The godly ¹¹  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

58:11 Then ¹²  observers ¹³  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ¹⁴ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ¹⁵  in the earth!”

[10:17]  ¹ sn You have heard. The psalmist is confident that God has responded positively to his earlier petitions for divine intervention. The psalmist apparently prayed the words of vv. 16-18 after the reception of an oracle of deliverance (given in response to the confident petition of vv. 12-15) or after the Lord actually delivered him from his enemies.

[10:17]  ² tn Heb “desire.”

[10:17]  ³ tn Heb “you make firm their heart, you cause your ear to listen.”

[10:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “to judge (on behalf of),” or “by judging (on behalf of).”

[10:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “crushed.” See v. 10.

[10:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “he will not add again [i.e., “he will no longer”] to terrify, man from the earth.” The Hebrew term אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) refers here to the wicked nations (v. 16). By describing them as “from the earth,” the psalmist emphasizes their weakness before the sovereign, eternal king.

[12:5]  ⁷ tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.

[12:5]  ⁸ tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).

[12:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will rise up.”

[12:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the Lord would be promising protection to those who have the courage to support the oppressed in the court of law. However, the first part of the verse focuses on the oppressed, not their advocates.

[58:10]  ¹¹ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[58:11]  ¹² tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

[58:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ¹⁵ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.