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 14:4

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ⁴  do not understand – ⁵ 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

Mazmur 18:33

18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; ⁶ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ⁷ 

Mazmur 59:17

59:17 You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you! ⁸ 

For God is my refuge, ⁹  the God who loves me. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 68:3

68:3 But the godly ¹¹  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ¹² 

Mazmur 89:51

89:51 Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;

they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps. ¹³ 

Mazmur 119:40

119:40 Look, I long for your precepts.

Revive me with your deliverance! ¹⁴ 

[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.

[14:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).

[18:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the one who] makes my feet like [those of ] a deer.”

[18:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.

[18:33]  sn Habakkuk uses similar language to describe his faith during difficult times. See Hab 3:19.

[59:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “my strength, to you I will sing praises.”

[59:17]  ⁹ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[59:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the God of my loyal love.”

[68:3]  ¹¹ tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

[89:51]  ¹³ tn Heb “[by] which your enemies, O Lord, taunt, [by] which they taunt [at] the heels of your anointed one.”

[119:40]  ¹⁴ tn Or “righteousness.”