Mazmur 38:2

38:2 For your arrows pierce ¹  me,

and your hand presses me down. ² 

Mazmur 39:10

39:10 Please stop wounding me! ³ 

You have almost beaten me to death! ⁴ 

Mazmur 80:15

80:15 the root ⁵  your right hand planted,

the shoot you made to grow! ⁶ 

Mazmur 139:5

139:5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;

you place your hand on me.

Mazmur 144:8

144:8 who speak lies,

and make false promises. ⁷ 

[38:2]  ¹ tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the Lord as a warrior who shoots arrows at him (see Ps 7:12-13).

[38:2]  ² tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It is preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2).

[39:10]  ³ tn Heb “remove from upon me your wound.”

[39:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the hostility of your hand I have come to an end.”

[80:15]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן emends the form to כַּנָּהּ (kannah, “its shoot”).

[80:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “and upon a son you strengthened for yourself.” In this context, where the extended metaphor of the vine dominates, בֵּן (ben, “son”) probably refers to the shoots that grow from the vine. Cf. Gen 49:22.

[144:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” The reference to the “right hand” is probably a metonymy for an oath. When making an oath, one would raise the hand as a solemn gesture. See Exod 6:8; Num 14:30; Deut 32:40. The figure thus represents the making of false oaths (false promises).