Mazmur 11:3

11:3 When the foundations ¹  are destroyed,

what can the godly ²  accomplish?” ³ 

Mazmur 17:10

17:10 They are calloused; ⁴ 

they speak arrogantly. ⁵ 

Mazmur 35:5

35:5 May they be ⁶  like wind-driven chaff,

as the Lord’s angel ⁷  attacks them! ⁸ 

Mazmur 37:23

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ⁹ 

Mazmur 78:9

78:9 The Ephraimites ¹⁰  were armed with bows, ¹¹ 

but they retreated in the day of battle. ¹² 

Mazmur 82:4

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power ¹³  of the wicked!

Mazmur 86:10

86:10 For you are great and do amazing things.

You alone are God.

Mazmur 92:8

92:8 But you, O Lord, reign ¹⁴  forever!

Mazmur 104:2

104:2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.

He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,

Mazmur 105:35

105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,

and devoured the crops of their fields. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 106:18

106:18 Fire burned their group;

the flames scorched the wicked. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 107:25

107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, ¹⁷ 

and it stirred up the waves of the sea. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 113:6

113:6 He bends down to look ¹⁹ 

at the sky and the earth.

Mazmur 116:15

116:15 The Lord values

the lives of his faithful followers. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 120:3

120:3 How will he severely punish you,

you deceptive talker? ²¹ 

Mazmur 123:4

123:4 We have had our fill ²² 

of the taunts of the self-assured,

of the contempt of the proud.

[11:3]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of this rare word is uncertain. An Ugaritic cognate is used of the “bottom” or “base” of a cliff or mountain (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47, 159). The noun appears in postbiblical Hebrew with the meaning “foundation” (see Jastrow 1636 s.v. שָׁת).

[11:3]  ² tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure [of heart]” in the previous verse.

[11:3]  ³ sn The quotation of the advisers’ words (which begins in 11:1c) ends at this point. They advise the psalmist to flee because the enemy is poised to launch a deadly attack. In such a lawless and chaotic situation godly people like the psalmist can accomplish nothing, so they might as well retreat to a safe place.

[17:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “their fat they close.” The Hebrew term חֵלֶב (khelev, “fat”) appears to stand by metonymy for their calloused hearts. They attack the psalmist without feeling any pity or remorse. Some propose emending the text to חֵלֶב לִבָּמוֹ (khelev libbamo, “fat of their heart[s]; cf. Ps 119:70, “their heart is insensitive like fat”). This assumes haplography of the לב (lamed-bet) consonantal sequence.

[17:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “[with] their mouth they speak with arrogance.”

[35:5]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.

[35:5]  ⁷ sn See the mention of the Lord’s angel in Ps 34:7.

[35:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “as the Lord’s angel pushes [them].”

[37:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[78:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.

[78:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (noshÿqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (romey, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (noshÿqey qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.

[78:9]  ¹² sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).

[82:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “hand.”

[92:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[are elevated] on high.”

[105:35]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”

[106:18]  ¹⁶ sn Verses 16-18 describe the events of Num 16:1-40.

[107:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”

[107:25]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”

[113:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the one who makes low to see.”

[116:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.

[120:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “What will he give to you, and what will he add to you, O tongue of deception?” The psalmist addresses his deceptive enemies. The Lord is the understood subject of the verbs “give” and “add.” The second part of the question echoes a standard curse formula, “thus the Lord/God will do … and thus he will add” (see Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam 3:17; 14:44; 20:13; 25:22; 2 Sam 3:9, 35; 19:13; 1 Kgs 2:23; 2 Kgs 6:31).

[123:4]  ²² tn Heb “greatly our soul is full to it.”