Mazmur 11:5

11:5 The Lord approves of ¹  the godly, ² 

but he ³  hates ⁴  the wicked and those who love to do violence. ⁵ 

Mazmur 14:4

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ⁶  do not understand – ⁷ 

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

and do not call out to the Lord.

Mazmur 15:3

15:3 He ⁸  does not slander, ⁹ 

or do harm to others, ¹⁰ 

or insult his neighbor. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 37:35

37:35 I have seen ruthless evil men ¹² 

growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil. ¹³ 

Mazmur 75:10

75:10 God says, ¹⁴ 

“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;

the godly will be victorious.” ¹⁵ 

[11:5]  ¹ tn Heb “examines,” the same verb used in v. 4b. But here it is used in a metonymic sense of “examine and approve” (see Jer 20:12).

[11:5]  ² tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure (of heart)” in v. 2.

[11:5]  ³ tn Heb “his [very] being.” A נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, soul”) is also attributed to the Lord in Isa 1:14, where a suffixed form of the noun appears as the subject of the verb “hate.” Both there and here the term is used of the seat of one’s emotions and passions.

[11:5]  ⁴ sn He hates the wicked. The Lord “hates” the wicked in the sense that he despises their wicked character and deeds, and actively opposes and judges them for their wickedness. See Ps 5:5.

[11:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked [one] and the lover of violence.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked [ones]”) in vv. 2 and 6.

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

[14:4]  ⁷ 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).

[15:3]  ⁸ sn Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age.

[15:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “he does not slander upon his tongue.” For another example of רָגַל (ragal, “slander”) see 2 Sam 19:28.

[15:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “his fellow.”

[15:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he does not lift up an insult against one who is near to him.”

[37:35]  ¹² tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.

[37:35]  ¹³ tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mit’areh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (’arah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (’alah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.

[75:10]  ¹⁴ tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in v. 10.

[75:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and all the horns of the wicked I will cut off, the horns of the godly will be lifted up.” The imagery of the wild ox’s horn is once more utilized (see vv. 4-5).