Mazmur 14:4

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹  do not understand – ² 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

Mazmur 18:38

18:38 I beat them ³  to death; ⁴ 

they fall at my feet. ⁵ 

Mazmur 41:8

41:8 They say, ⁶ 

‘An awful disease ⁷  overwhelms him, ⁸ 

and now that he is bed-ridden he will never recover.’ ⁹ 

Mazmur 49:8

49:8 (the ransom price for a human life ¹⁰  is too high,

and people go to their final destiny), ¹¹ 

Mazmur 49:17

49:17 For he will take nothing with him when he dies;

his wealth will not follow him down into the grave. ¹² 

Mazmur 81:11

81:11 But my people did not obey me; ¹³ 

Israel did not submit to me. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 86:8

86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!

Your exploits are incomparable! ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 89:6

89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 89:34

89:34 I will not break ¹⁷  my covenant

or go back on what I promised. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 94:14

94:14 Certainly ¹⁹  the Lord does not forsake his people;

he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 95:11

95:11 So I made a vow in my anger,

‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’” ²¹ 

Mazmur 101:7

101:7 Deceitful people will not live in my palace. ²² 

Liars will not be welcome in my presence. ²³ 

[14:4]  ¹ tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ² 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).

[18:38]  ³ tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”

[18:38]  ⁴ tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”

[18:38]  ⁵ sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.

[41:8]  ⁶ tn The words “they say” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to make it clear that v. 8 contains a quotation of what the psalmist’s enemies say about him (see v. 7a).

[41:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “thing of worthlessness.” In Ps 101:3 the phrase refers to evil deeds in general, but here it appears to refer more specifically to the illness that plagues the psalmist.

[41:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “is poured out on him.” The passive participle of יָצַק (yatsaq) is used.

[41:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he who lies down will not again arise.”

[49:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their life.” Some emend the text to “his life,” understanding the antecedent of the pronoun as “brother” in v. 7. However, the man and brother of v. 7 are representative of the human race in general, perhaps explaining why a plural pronoun appears in v. 8. Of course, the plural pronoun could refer back to “the rich” mentioned in v. 6. Another option (the one assumed in the translation) is that the suffixed mem is enclitic. In this case the “ransom price for human life” is referred to an abstract, general way.

[49:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and one ceases forever.” The translation assumes an indefinite subject which in turn is representative of the entire human race (“one,” that refers to human beings without exception). The verb חָדַל (khadal, “cease”) is understood in the sense of “come to an end; fail” (i.e., die). Another option is to translate, “and one ceases/refrains forever.” In this case the idea is that the living, convinced of the reality of human mortality, give up all hope of “buying off” God and refrain from trying to do so.

[49:17]  ¹² tn Heb “his glory will not go down after him.”

[81:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “did not listen to my voice.”

[81:11]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew expression אָבָה לִי (’avah liy) means “submit to me” (see Deut 13:8).

[86:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”

[89:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the Lord’s heavenly throne.

[89:34]  ¹⁷ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:34]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”

[94:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or “for.”

[94:14]  ²⁰ tn Or “his inheritance.”

[95:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).

[101:7]  ²² tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.”

[101:7]  ²³ tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”