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 73:23

73:23 But I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

Mazmur 107:5

107:5 They were hungry and thirsty;

they fainted from exhaustion. ⁶ 

Mazmur 122:2

122:2 Our feet are ⁷  standing

inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

[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.”

[107:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and their soul in them fainted.”

[122:2]  ⁷ tn Or “were.”