Mazmur 63:9

63:9 Enemies seek to destroy my life, ¹ 

but they will descend into the depths of the earth. ² 

Mazmur 83:17

83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! ³ 

May they die in shame! ⁴ 

Mazmur 119:92

119:92 If I had not found encouragement in your law, ⁵ 

I would have died in my sorrow. ⁶ 

Mazmur 139:19

139:19 If only ⁷  you would kill the wicked, O God!

Get away from me, you violent men! ⁸ 

[63:9]  ¹ tn Heb “but they for destruction seek my life.” The pronoun “they” must refer here to the psalmist’s enemies, referred to at this point for the first time in the psalm.

[63:9]  ² sn The depths of the earth refers here to the underworld dwelling place of the dead (see Ezek 26:20; 31:14, 16, 18; 32:18, 24). See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 167.

[83:17]  ³ tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.

[83:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.

[119:92]  ⁵ tn Heb “if your law had not been my delight.”

[119:92]  ⁶ tn Or “my suffering.”

[139:19]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”