Mazmur 35:22

35:22 But you take notice, ¹  Lord!

O Lord, do not remain far away from me!

Mazmur 50:3

50:3 Our God approaches and is not silent; ² 

consuming fire goes ahead of him

and all around him a storm rages. ³ 

Mazmur 50:21

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, ⁴ 

so you thought I was exactly like you. ⁵ 

But now I will condemn ⁶  you

and state my case against you! ⁷ 

Mazmur 83:1

Psalm 83 ⁸ 

A song, a psalm of Asaph.

83:1 O God, do not be silent!

Do not ignore us! ⁹  Do not be inactive, O God!

[35:22]  ¹ tn Heb “you see, O Lord.” There is a deliberate play on words. In v. 21 the enemies say, “our eye sees,” but the psalmist is confident that the Lord “sees” as well, so he appeals to him for help (see also v. 17).

[50:3]  ² tn According to GKC 322 §109.e, the jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al) is used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.”

[50:3]  ³ tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”

[50:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21]  sn The Lord was silent in the sense that he delayed punishment. Of course, God’s patience toward sinners eventually runs out. The divine “silence” is only temporary (see v. 3, where the psalmist, having described God’s arrival, observes that “he is not silent”).

[50:21]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21]  ⁶ tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[83:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not be deaf.”