Mazmur 7:2

7:2 Otherwise they will rip ¹  me ²  to shreds like a lion;

they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. ³ 

Mazmur 13:4

13:4 Then ⁴  my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”

Then ⁵  my foes will rejoice because I am upended.

Mazmur 32:9

32:9 Do not be ⁶  like an unintelligent horse or mule, ⁷ 

which will not obey you

unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. ⁸ 

Mazmur 39:4

39:4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality

and the brevity of life! ⁹ 

Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 39:13

39:13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy

before I pass away. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 50:22

50:22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! ¹² 

Otherwise I will rip you to shreds ¹³ 

and no one will be able to rescue you.

Mazmur 75:4

75:4 ¹⁴ I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”

and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory! ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 83:18

83:18 Then they will know ¹⁶  that you alone are the Lord, ¹⁷ 

the sovereign king ¹⁸  over all the earth.

Mazmur 90:14

90:14 Satisfy us in the morning ¹⁹  with your loyal love!

Then we will shout for joy and be happy ²⁰  all our days!

Mazmur 102:18

102:18 The account of his intervention ²¹  will be recorded for future generations;

people yet to be born will praise the Lord.

Mazmur 102:21

102:21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,

and praise him ²²  in Jerusalem, ²³ 

Mazmur 106:8

106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, ²⁴ 

that he might reveal his power.

Mazmur 119:116

119:116 Sustain me as you promised, ²⁵  so that I will live. ²⁶ 

Do not disappoint me! ²⁷ 

[7:2]  ¹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew text, even though “all who chase me” in v. 1 refers to a whole group of enemies. The singular is also used in vv. 4-5, but the psalmist returns to the plural in v. 6. The singular is probably collective, emphasizing the united front that the psalmist’s enemies present. This same alternation between a collective singular and a plural referring to enemies appears in Pss 9:3, 6; 13:4; 31:4, 8; 41:6, 10-11; 42:9-10; 55:3; 64:1-2; 74:3-4; 89:22-23; 106:10-11; 143:3, 6, 9.

[7:2]  ² tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[7:2]  ³ tn Heb “tearing and there is no one rescuing.” The verbal form translated “tearing” is a singular active participle.

[13:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “or else.”

[13:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “or else.”

[32:9]  ⁶ tn The verb form is plural (i.e., “do not all of you be”); the psalmist addresses the whole group.

[32:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a horse, like a mule without understanding.”

[32:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “with a bridle and bit, its [?] to hold, not to come near to you.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun עֲדִי (’adiy) is uncertain. Normally the word refers to “jewelry,” so some suggest the meaning “trappings” here (cf. NASB). Some emend the form to לְחֵיהֶם (lÿkhehem, “their jawbones”) but it is difficult to see how the present Hebrew text, even if corrupt, could have derived from this proposed original reading. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 265) takes the form from an Arabic root and translates “whose gallop.” Cf. also NRSV “whose temper must be curbed.”

[39:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Cause me to know, O Lord, my end; and the measure of my days, what it is!”

[39:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Let me know how transient I am!”

[39:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Gaze away from me and I will smile before I go and am not.” The precise identification of the initial verb form (הָשַׁע, hasha’) is uncertain. It could be from the root שָׁעָע (sha’a’, “smear”), but “your eyes” would be the expected object in this case (see Isa 6:10). The verb may be an otherwise unattested Hiphil form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “to gaze”) meaning “cause your gaze to be.” Some prefer to emend the form to the Qal שְׁעֵה (shÿ’eh, “gaze”; see Job 14:6). If one does read a form of the verb “to gaze,” the angry divine “gaze” of discipline would seem to be in view (see vv. 10-11). For a similar expression of this sentiment see Job 10:20-21.

[50:22]  ¹² tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.

[50:22]  ¹³ sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).

[75:4]  ¹⁴ tn The identity of the speaker in vv. 4-6 is unclear. The present translation assumes that the psalmist, who also speaks in vv. 7-9 (where God/the Lord is spoken of in the third person) here addresses the proud and warns them of God’s judgment. The presence of כִּי (ki, “for”) at the beginning of both vv. 6-7 seems to indicate that vv. 4-9 are a unit. However, there is no formal indication of a new speaker in v. 4 (or in v. 10, where God appears to speak). Another option is to see God speaking in vv. 2-6 and v. 10 and to take only vv. 7-9 as the words of the psalmist. In this case one must interpret כִּי at the beginning of v. 7 in an asseverative or emphatic sense (“surely; indeed”).

[75:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “do not lift up a horn.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Here the idiom seems to refer to an arrogant attitude that assumes victory has been achieved.

[83:18]  ¹⁶ tn After the preceding jussives (v. 17), the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose (“so that they may know”) or result.

[83:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the Lord, you alone.”

[83:18]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[90:14]  ¹⁹ sn Morning is used metaphorically for a time of renewed joy after affliction (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 49:14; 59:16; 143:8).

[90:14]  ²⁰ tn After the imperative (see the preceding line) the cohortatives with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose/result.

[102:18]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[102:21]  ²² tn Heb “his praise.”

[102:21]  ²³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[106:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[119:116]  ²⁵ tn Heb “according to your word.”

[119:116]  ²⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:116]  ²⁷ tn Heb “do not make me ashamed of my hope.” After the Hebrew verb בּוֹשׁ (bosh, “to be ashamed”) the preposition מִן (min, “from”) often introduces the reason for shame.