Mazmur 12:1-4
KonteksFor the music director; according to the sheminith style; 2 a psalm of David.
12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly 3 have disappeared; 4
people of integrity 5 have vanished. 6
12:2 People lie to one another; 7
they flatter and deceive. 8
12:3 May the Lord cut off 9 all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts! 10
12:4 They say, 11 “We speak persuasively; 12
we know how to flatter and boast. 13
Who is our master?” 14
Mazmur 14:1-4
KonteksFor the music director; by David.
14:1 Fools say to themselves, 16 “There is no God.” 17
They sin and commit evil deeds; 18
none of them does what is right. 19
14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven 20 at the human race, 21
to see if there is anyone who is wise 22 and seeks God. 23
they are all morally corrupt. 25
None of them does what is right, 26
not even one!
14:4 All those who behave wickedly 27 do not understand – 28
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
Mazmur 17:10-12
Konteksthey speak arrogantly. 30
17:11 They attack me, now they surround me; 31
they intend to throw me to the ground. 32
17:12 He 33 is like a lion 34 that wants to tear its prey to bits, 35
like a young lion crouching 36 in hidden places.
Mazmur 22:12-16
Konteks22:12 Many bulls 37 surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan 38 hem me in.
22:13 They 39 open their mouths to devour me 40
like a roaring lion that rips its prey. 41
22:14 My strength drains away like water; 42
all my bones are dislocated;
my heart 43 is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
22:15 The roof of my mouth 44 is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums. 45
You 46 set me in the dust of death. 47
22:16 Yes, 48 wild dogs surround me –
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet. 49
Mazmur 55:9-14
KonteksFrustrate their plans! 51
For I see violence and conflict in the city.
55:10 Day and night they walk around on its walls, 52
while wickedness and destruction 53 are within it.
55:11 Disaster is within it;
violence 54 and deceit do not depart from its public square.
55:12 Indeed, 55 it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, 56
or else I could hide from him.
55:13 But it is you, 57 a man like me, 58
my close friend in whom I confided. 59
55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; 60
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
Mazmur 64:1-6
KonteksFor the music director; a psalm of David.
64:1 Listen to me, 62 O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect 63 my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. 64
64:2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,
from the crowd of evildoers. 65
64:3 They 66 sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, 67
64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent 68 in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. 69
64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. 70
They plan how to hide 71 snares,
and boast, 72 “Who will see them?” 73
64:6 They devise 74 unjust schemes;
they disguise 75 a well-conceived plot. 76
Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered. 77
Mazmur 74:3-8
Konteks74:3 Hurry and look 78 at the permanent ruins,
and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! 79
74:4 Your enemies roar 80 in the middle of your sanctuary; 81
they set up their battle flags. 82
74:5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest. 83
74:6 And now 84 they are tearing down 85 all its engravings 86
74:7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground. 89
74:8 They say to themselves, 90
“We will oppress all of them.” 91
They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land. 92
Mazmur 79:1-4
KonteksA psalm of Asaph.
79:1 O God, foreigners 94 have invaded your chosen land; 95
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem 96 into a heap of ruins.
79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky; 97
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
79:3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. 98
79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. 99
Mazmur 83:1-8
KonteksA song, a psalm of Asaph.
83:1 O God, do not be silent!
Do not ignore us! 101 Do not be inactive, O God!
83:2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;
those who hate you are hostile. 102
83:3 They carefully plot 103 against your people,
and make plans to harm 104 the ones you cherish. 105
83:4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! 106
Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
83:5 Yes, 107 they devise a unified strategy; 108
they form an alliance 109 against you.
83:6 It includes 110 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites, 111
83:7 Gebal, 112 Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. 113
83:8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot. 114 (Selah)
Mazmur 94:4-7
Konteks94:4 They spew out threats 115 and speak defiantly;
all the evildoers boast. 116
94:5 O Lord, they crush your people;
they oppress the nation that belongs to you. 117
94:6 They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land,
and they murder the fatherless. 118
94:7 Then they say, “The Lord does not see this;
the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.” 119
Mazmur 109:1-5
KonteksFor the music director, a psalm of David.
109:1 O God whom I praise, do not ignore me! 121
109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;
they lie to me. 122
109:3 They surround me and say hateful things; 123
they attack me for no reason.
109:4 They repay my love with accusations, 124
but I continue to pray. 125
109:5 They repay me evil for good, 126
and hate for love.
Mazmur 137:7
Konteks137:7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell. 127
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, 128
right to its very foundation!”
Mazmur 140:1-5
KonteksFor the music director; a psalm of David.
140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! 130
Protect me from violent men, 131
140:2 who plan ways to harm me. 132
All day long they stir up conflict. 133
140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; 134
a viper’s 135 venom is behind 136 their lips. (Selah)
140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power 137 of the wicked!
Protect me from violent men,
who plan to knock me over. 138
140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men 139 spread a net by the path;
they set traps for me. (Selah)
[12:1] 1 sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.
[12:1] 2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
[12:1] 3 tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[12:1] 4 tn Or “have come to an end.”
[12:1] 5 tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”
[12:1] 6 tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”
[12:2] 7 tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.
[12:2] 8 tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”
[12:3] 9 tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the
[12:3] 10 tn Heb “a tongue speaking great [things].”
[12:4] 11 tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.
[12:4] 12 tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.
[12:4] 13 tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.
[12:4] 14 sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.
[14:1] 15 sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.
[14:1] 16 tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.
[14:1] 17 sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).
[14:1] 18 tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.
[14:1] 19 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
[14:2] 20 sn The picture of the
[14:2] 21 tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”
[14:2] 22 tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.
[14:2] 23 sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.
[14:3] 24 tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”
[14:3] 25 tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”
[14:3] 26 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
[14:4] 27 tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.
[14:4] 28 tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).
[17:10] 29 tn Heb “their fat they close.” The Hebrew term חֵלֶב (khelev, “fat”) appears to stand by metonymy for their calloused hearts. They attack the psalmist without feeling any pity or remorse. Some propose emending the text to חֵלֶב לִבָּמוֹ (khelev libbamo, “fat of their heart[s]; cf. Ps 119:70, “their heart is insensitive like fat”). This assumes haplography of the לב (lamed-bet) consonantal sequence.
[17:10] 30 tn Heb “[with] their mouth they speak with arrogance.”
[17:11] 31 tc Heb “our steps, now they surround me.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “surround me,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has “surround us,” harmonizing the pronoun to the preceding “our steps.” The first person plural pronoun does not fit the context, where the psalmist speaks as an individual. In the preceding verses the psalmist uses a first person singular verbal or pronominal form twenty times. For this reason it is preferable to emend “our steps” to אִשְּׁרוּנִי (’ishÿruni, “they attack me”) from the verbal root אָשֻׁר (’ashur, “march, stride, track”).
[17:11] 32 tn Heb “their eyes they set to bend down in the ground.”
[17:12] 33 tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.
[17:12] 34 tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”
[17:12] 35 tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”
[22:12] 37 sn The psalmist figuratively compares his enemies to dangerous bulls.
[22:12] 38 sn Bashan, located east of the Jordan River, was well-known for its cattle. See Ezek 39:18; Amos 4:1.
[22:13] 39 tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”
[22:13] 40 tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).
[22:13] 41 tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”
[22:14] 42 tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”
[22:14] 43 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.
[22:15] 44 tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.
[22:15] 45 tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”
[22:15] 46 sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).
[22:15] 47 sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.
[22:16] 49 tn Heb “like a lion, my hands and my feet.” This reading is often emended because it is grammatically awkward, but perhaps its awkwardness is by rhetorical design. Its broken syntax may be intended to convey the panic and terror felt by the psalmist. The psalmist may envision a lion pinning the hands and feet of its victim to the ground with its paws (a scene depicted in ancient Near Eastern art), or a lion biting the hands and feet. The line has been traditionally translated, “they pierce my hands and feet,” and then taken as foreshadowing the crucifixion of Christ. Though Jesus does appropriate the language of this psalm while on the cross (compare v. 1 with Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34), the NT does not cite this verse in describing the death of Jesus. (It does refer to vv. 7-8 and 18, however. See Matt 27:35, 39, 43; Mark 15:24, 29; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24.) If one were to insist on an emendation of כָּאֲרִי (ka’ariy, “like a lion”) to a verb, the most likely verbal root would be כָּרָה (karah, “dig”; see the LXX). In this context this verb could refer to the gnawing and tearing of wild dogs (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV). The ancient Greek version produced by Symmachus reads “bind” here, perhaps understanding a verbal root כרך, which is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic and means “to encircle, entwine, embrace” (see HALOT 497-98 s.v. כרך and Jastrow 668 s.v. כָּרַךְ). Neither one of these proposed verbs can yield a meaning “bore, pierce.”
[55:9] 50 tn Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallow” in the sense of “devour” or “destroy” (cf. KJV), but this may be a homonym meaning “confuse” (see BDB 118 s.v. בַּלַּע; HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע). “Their tongue” is the understood object of the verb (see the next line).
[55:9] 51 tn Heb “split their tongue,” which apparently means “confuse their speech,” or, more paraphrastically, “frustrate the plans they devise with their tongues.”
[55:10] 52 tn Heb “day and night they surround it, upon its walls.” Personified “violence and conflict” are the likely subjects. They are compared to watchmen on the city’s walls.
[55:10] 53 sn Wickedness and destruction. These terms are also closely associated in Ps 7:14.
[55:11] 54 tn Or “injury, harm.”
[55:12] 56 tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.
[55:13] 57 sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.
[55:13] 58 tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”
[55:13] 59 tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”
[55:14] 60 tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.
[64:1] 61 sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.
[64:1] 63 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.
[64:1] 64 tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.
[64:2] 65 tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”
[64:3] 66 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[64:3] 67 tn Heb “a bitter word.”
[64:4] 68 tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.
[64:4] 69 tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[64:5] 70 tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”
[64:5] 71 tn Heb “they report about hiding.”
[64:5] 73 tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).
[64:6] 74 tn Heb “search out, examine,” which here means (by metonymy) “devise.”
[64:6] 75 tc The MT has תַּמְנוּ (tamnu, “we are finished”), a Qal perfect first common plural form from the verbal root תָּמַם (tamam). Some understand this as the beginning of a quotation of the enemies’ words and translate, “we have completed,” but the Hiphil would seem to be required in this case. The present translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[64:6] 76 tn Heb “a searched-out search,” which is understood as referring here to a thoroughly planned plot to destroy the psalmist.
[64:6] 77 tn Heb “and the inner part of man, and a heart [is] deep.” The point seems to be that a man’s inner thoughts are incapable of being discovered. No one is a mind reader! Consequently the psalmist is vulnerable to his enemies’ well-disguised plots.
[74:3] 78 tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”
[74:3] 79 tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”
[74:4] 80 tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.
[74:4] 81 tn Heb “your meeting place.”
[74:4] 82 tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).
[74:5] 83 tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.
[74:6] 84 tn This is the reading of the Qere (marginal reading). The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and a time.”
[74:6] 85 tn The imperfect verbal form vividly describes the act as underway.
[74:6] 86 tn Heb “its engravings together.”
[74:6] 87 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49-50).
[74:6] 88 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. An Akkadian cognate refers to a “pickaxe” (cf. NEB “hatchet and pick”; NIV “axes and hatchets”; NRSV “hatchets and hammers”).
[74:7] 89 tn Heb “to the ground they desecrate the dwelling place of your name.”
[74:8] 90 tn Heb “in their heart.”
[74:8] 91 tc Heb “[?] altogether.” The Hebrew form נִינָם (ninam) is problematic. It could be understood as the noun נִין (nin, “offspring”) but the statement “their offspring altogether” would make no sense here. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:159) emends יָחַד (yakhad, “altogether”) to יָחִיד (yakhid, “alone”) and translate “let their offspring be solitary” (i.e., exiled). Another option is to understand the form as a Qal imperfect first common plural from יָנָה (yanah, “to oppress”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix, “we will oppress them.” However, this verb, when used in the finite form, always appears in the Hiphil. Therefore, it is preferable to emend the form to the Hiphil נוֹנֵם (nonem, “we will oppress them”).
[74:8] 92 tn Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”
[79:1] 93 sn Psalm 79. The author laments how the invading nations have destroyed the temple and city of Jerusalem. He asks God to forgive his people and to pour out his vengeance on those who have mistreated them.
[79:1] 95 tn Heb “have come into your inheritance.”
[79:1] 96 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[79:2] 97 tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”
[79:3] 98 tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”
[79:4] 99 tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.” See Ps 44:13.
[83:1] 100 sn Psalm 83. The psalmist asks God to deliver Israel from the attacks of foreign nations. Recalling how God defeated Israel’s enemies in the days of Deborah and Gideon, he prays that the hostile nations would be humiliated.
[83:1] 101 tn Heb “do not be deaf.”
[83:2] 102 tn Heb “lift up [their] head[s].” The phrase “lift up [the] head” here means “to threaten; to be hostile,” as in Judg 8:28.
[83:3] 103 tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”
[83:3] 104 tn Heb “and consult together against.”
[83:3] 105 tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”
[83:4] 106 tn Heb “we will cause them to disappear from [being] a nation.”
[83:5] 108 tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”
[83:5] 109 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[83:6] 110 tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[83:6] 111 sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.
[83:7] 112 sn Some identify Gebal with the Phoenician coastal city of Byblos (see Ezek 27:9, where the name is spelled differently), though others locate this site south of the Dead Sea (see BDB 148 s.v. גְּבַל; HALOT 174 s.v. גְּבַל).
[83:7] 113 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[83:8] 114 tn Heb “they are an arm for the sons of Lot.” The “arm” is here a symbol of military might.
[83:8] sn The descendants of Lot were the Moabites and Ammonites.
[94:4] 115 tn Heb “they gush forth [words].”
[94:4] 116 tn The Hitpael of אָמַר (’amar) occurs only here (and perhaps in Isa 61:6).
[94:5] 117 tn Or “your inheritance.”
[94:6] 118 tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 82:3; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
[94:7] 119 tn Heb “does not understand.”
[109:1] 120 sn Psalm 109. Appealing to God’s justice, the psalmist asks God to vindicate him and to bring severe judgment down upon his enemies.
[109:1] 121 tn Heb “do not be deaf.”
[109:2] 122 tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”
[109:3] 123 tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”
[109:4] 124 tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”
[109:4] 125 tn Heb “and I, prayer.”
[109:5] 126 tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”
[137:7] 127 tn Heb “remember, O
[137:7] 128 tn Heb “lay [it] bare, lay [it] bare.”
[140:1] 129 sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.
[140:1] 130 tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).
[140:1] 131 tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).
[140:2] 132 tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”
[140:2] 133 tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.
[140:3] 134 tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”
[140:3] 135 tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.
[140:4] 138 tn Heb “to push down my steps.”
[140:5] 139 tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).
