Mazmur 12:8

12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere, ¹ 

when people promote evil. ² 

Mazmur 38:7

38:7 For I am overcome with shame ³ 

and my whole body is sick. ⁴ 

Mazmur 51:2

51:2 Wash away my wrongdoing! ⁵ 

Cleanse me of my sin! ⁶ 

Mazmur 67:7

67:7 May God bless us! ⁷ 

Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. ⁸ 

Mazmur 72:3

72:3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,

and the hills will announce justice. ⁹ 

Mazmur 74:6

74:6 And now ¹⁰  they are tearing down ¹¹  all its engravings ¹² 

with axes ¹³  and crowbars. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 94:2

94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth!

Pay back the proud!

Mazmur 105:21

105:21 He put him in charge of his palace, ¹⁵ 

and made him manager of all his property,

Mazmur 105:35

105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,

and devoured the crops of their fields. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 109:13

109:13 May his descendants ¹⁷  be cut off! ¹⁸ 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ¹⁹ 

[12:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the wicked walk all around.” One could translate v. 8a as an independent clause, in which case it would be a concluding observation in proverbial style. The present translation assumes that v. 8a is a subordinate explanatory clause, or perhaps a subordinate temporal clause (“while the wicked walk all around”). The adverb סָבִיב (saviv, “around”), in combination with the Hitpael form of the verb “walk” (which indicates repeated action), pictures the wicked as ubiquitous. They have seemingly overrun society.

[12:8]  ² tn Heb “when evil is lifted up by the sons of man.” The abstract noun זֻלּוּת (zulut, “evil”) occurs only here. On the basis of evidence from the cognate languages (see HALOT 272 s.v.), one might propose the meaning “base character,” or “morally foolish behavior.”

[38:7]  ³ tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).

[38:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).

[51:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Thoroughly wash me from my wrongdoing.”

[51:2]  ⁶ sn In vv. 1b-2 the psalmist uses three different words to emphasize the multifaceted character and degree of his sin. Whatever one wants to call it (“rebellious acts,” “wrongdoing,” “sin”), he has done it and stands morally polluted in God’s sight. The same three words appear in Exod 34:7, which emphasizes that God is willing to forgive sin in all of its many dimensions. In v. 2 the psalmist compares forgiveness and restoration to physical cleansing. Perhaps he likens spiritual cleansing to the purification rites of priestly law.

[67:7]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.

[67:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”

[72:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the] mountains will bear peace to the people, and [the] hills with justice.” The personified mountains and hills probably represent messengers who will sweep over the land announcing the king’s just decrees and policies. See Isa 52:7 and C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:133.

[74:6]  ¹⁰ tn This is the reading of the Qere (marginal reading). The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and a time.”

[74:6]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verbal form vividly describes the act as underway.

[74:6]  ¹² tn Heb “its engravings together.”

[74:6]  ¹³ tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49-50).

[74:6]  ¹⁴ 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”).

[105:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”

[105:35]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”

[109:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “offspring.”

[109:13]  ¹⁸ sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

[109:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”