Mazmur 5:6

5:6 You destroy ¹  liars; ² 

the Lord despises ³  violent and deceitful people. ⁴ 

Mazmur 28:3

28:3 Do not drag me away with evil men,

with those who behave wickedly, ⁵ 

who talk so friendly to their neighbors, ⁶ 

while they plan to harm them! ⁷ 

Mazmur 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ⁸  down to the deep Pit. ⁹ 

Violent and deceitful people ¹⁰  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ¹¹ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Mazmur 139:19

139:19 If only ¹²  you would kill the wicked, O God!

Get away from me, you violent men! ¹³ 

[5:6]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates God’s typical response to such individuals. Another option is to translate the verb as future (“You will destroy”); the psalmist may be envisioning a time of judgment when God will remove the wicked from the scene.

[5:6]  ² tn Heb “those who speak a lie.” In the OT a “lie” does not refer in a general philosophical sense to any statement that fails to correspond to reality. Instead it refers more specifically to a slanderous and/or deceitful statement that promotes one’s own selfish, sinful interests and/or exploits or harms those who are innocent. Note the emphasis on violence and deceit in the following line.

[5:6]  ³ tn The imperfect verbal form highlights the Lord’s characteristic attitude toward such individuals.

[5:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “a man of bloodshed and deceit.” The singular אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is used here in a collective or representative sense; thus the translation “people” is appropriate here. Note the plural forms in vv. 5-6a.

[28:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”

[28:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “speakers of peace with their neighbors.”

[28:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and evil [is] in their heart[s].”

[55:23]  ⁸ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[139:19]  ¹² tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).

[139:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”