Mazmur 49:11

49:11 Their grave becomes their permanent residence,

their eternal dwelling place. ¹ 

They name their lands after themselves, ² 

Mazmur 55:18

55:18 He will rescue ³  me and protect me from those who attack me, ⁴ 

even though ⁵  they greatly outnumber me. ⁶ 

Mazmur 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ⁷ 

for they say, ⁸ 

“Who hears?”

Mazmur 79:11

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ⁹ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 102:28

102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,

and their descendants ¹¹  will live securely in your presence.” ¹² 

Mazmur 106:4

106:4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people!

Pay attention to me, when you deliver,

Mazmur 107:38

107:38 He blessed ¹³  them so that they became very numerous.

He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ¹⁵ 

may the Lord remove them, ¹⁶  along with those who behave wickedly! ¹⁷ 

May Israel experience peace! ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 139:15

139:15 my bones were not hidden from you,

when ¹⁹  I was made in secret

and sewed together in the depths of the earth. ²⁰ 

[49:11]  ¹ tc Heb “their inward part [is] their houses [are] permanent, their dwelling places for a generation and a generation.” If one follows the MT, then קֶרֶב (qerev, “inward part”) must refer to the seat of these people’s thoughts (for other examples of this use of the term, see BDB 899 s.v., though BDB prefers an emendation in this passage). In this case all three lines of v. 11 expose these people’s arrogant assumption that they will last forever, which then stands in sharp contrast to reality as summarized in v. 12. In this case one might translate the first two lines, “they think that their houses are permanent and that their dwelling places will last forever” (cf. NASB). Following the lead of several ancient versions, the present translation assumes an emendation of קִרְבָּם (qirbam, “their inward part”) to קְבָרִים (qÿvarim, “graves”). This assumes that the letters bet (ב) and resh (ר) were accidentally transposed in the MT. In this case the first two lines support the point made in v. 10, while the third line of v. 11 stands in contrast to v. 12. The phrase בֵּית עוֹלָם (bet ’olam, “permanent house”) is used of a tomb in Eccl 12:5 (as well as in Phoenician tomb inscriptions, see DNWSI 1:160 for a list of texts) and מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “dwelling place”) refers to a tomb in Isa 22:16. Cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV.

[49:11]  ² sn Naming their lands after themselves is a claim of possession.

[55:18]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form is here used rhetorically to indicate that the action is certain to take place (the so-called perfect of certitude).

[55:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “he will redeem in peace my life from [those who] draw near to me.”

[55:18]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[55:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “among many they are against me.” For other examples of the preposition עִמָּד (’immad) used in the sense of “at, against,” see HALOT 842 s.v.; BDB 767 s.v.; IBHS 219 §11.2.14b.

[59:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ⁸ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[79:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[102:28]  ¹¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[102:28]  ¹² tn Heb “before you will be established.”

[107:38]  ¹³ tn “Bless” here carries the nuance “endue with sexual potency, make fertile.” See Gen 1:28, where the statement “he blessed them” directly precedes the command “be fruitful and populate the earth” (see also 1:22). The verb “bless” carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).

[107:38]  ¹⁴ tn The verbal form in this line appears to be an imperfect, which may be taken as customary (drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame) or as generalizing (in which case one should use the English present tense, understanding a move from narrative to present reality).

[125:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[139:15]  ¹⁹ tc The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) should probably be emended to כֲּאַשֶׁר (ka’asher, “when”). The kaf (כ) may have been lost by haplography (note the kaf at the end of the preceding form).

[139:15]  ²⁰ sn The phrase depths of the earth may be metaphorical (euphemistic) or it may reflect a prescientific belief about the origins of the embryo deep beneath the earth’s surface (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 96-97). Job 1:21 also closely associates the mother’s womb with the earth.