Mazmur 110:5

110:5 O sovereign Lord, ¹  at your right hand

he strikes down ²  kings in the day he unleashes his anger. ³ 

Mazmur 51:17

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit ⁴  –

O God, a humble and repentant heart ⁵  you will not reject. ⁶ 

Mazmur 2:9

2:9 You will break them ⁷  with an iron scepter; ⁸ 

you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” ⁹ 

Mazmur 51:8

51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! ¹⁰ 

May the bones ¹¹  you crushed rejoice! ¹² 

Mazmur 18:42

18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; ¹³ 

I beat them underfoot ¹⁴  like clay ¹⁵  in the streets.

Mazmur 34:18

34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he delivers ¹⁶  those who are discouraged. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 69:20

69:20 Their insults are painful ¹⁸  and make me lose heart; ¹⁹ 

I look ²⁰  for sympathy, but receive none, ²¹ 

for comforters, but find none.

Mazmur 119:20

119:20 I desperately long to know ²² 

your regulations at all times.

Mazmur 46:9

46:9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth; ²³ 

he shatters ²⁴  the bow and breaks ²⁵  the spear;

he burns ²⁶  the shields with fire. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 89:23

89:23 I will crush his enemies before him;

I will strike down those who hate him.

Mazmur 147:3

147:3 He heals ²⁸  the brokenhearted,

and bandages their wounds.

Mazmur 58:6

58:6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!

Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!

Mazmur 74:14

74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; ²⁹ 

you fed ³⁰  him to the people who live along the coast. ³¹ 

Mazmur 68:21

68:21 Indeed God strikes the heads of his enemies,

the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion. ³² 

Mazmur 38:8

38:8 I am numb with pain and severely battered; ³³ 

I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 94:5

94:5 O Lord, they crush your people;

they oppress the nation that belongs to you. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 72:4

72:4 He will defend ³⁶  the oppressed among the people;

he will deliver ³⁷  the children ³⁸  of the poor

and crush the oppressor.

Mazmur 89:10

89:10 You crushed the Proud One ³⁹  and killed it; ⁴⁰ 

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

Mazmur 110:6

110:6 He executes judgment ⁴¹  against ⁴²  the nations;

he fills the valleys with corpses; ⁴³ 

he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield. ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 69:10

69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food, ⁴⁵ 

which causes others to insult me. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 74:13

74:13 You destroyed ⁴⁷  the sea by your strength;

you shattered the heads of the sea monster ⁴⁸  in the water.

Mazmur 107:16

107:16 For he shattered the bronze gates,

and hacked through the iron bars. ⁴⁹ 

Mazmur 18:38

18:38 I beat them ⁵⁰  to death; ⁵¹ 

they fall at my feet. ⁵² 

Mazmur 39:10

39:10 Please stop wounding me! ⁵³ 

You have almost beaten me to death! ⁵⁴ 

Mazmur 44:19

44:19 Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs; ⁵⁵ 

you have covered us with darkness. ⁵⁶ 

Mazmur 91:13

91:13 You will subdue ⁵⁷  a lion and a snake; ⁵⁸ 

you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.

Mazmur 107:12

107:12 So he used suffering to humble them; ⁵⁹ 

they stumbled and no one helped them up.

Mazmur 42:6

42:6 I am depressed, ⁶⁰ 

so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, ⁶¹ 

from Hermon, ⁶²  from Mount Mizar. ⁶³ 

Mazmur 62:3

62:3 How long will you threaten ⁶⁴  a man?

All of you are murderers, ⁶⁵ 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ⁶⁶ 

[110:5]  ¹ tn As pointed in the Hebrew text, this title refers to God (many medieval Hebrew mss read יְהוָה, yehveh, “Lord” here). The present translation assumes that the psalmist here addresses the Lord as he celebrates what the king is able to accomplish while positioned at God’s “right hand.” According to this view the king is the subject of the third person verb forms in vv. 5b-7. (2) Another option is to understand the king as the addressee (as in vv. 2-3). In this case “the Lord” is the subject of the third person verbs throughout vv. 5-7 and is depicted as a warrior in a very anthropomorphic manner. In this case the Lord is pictured as being at the psalmist’s right hand (just the opposite of v. 1). See Pss 16:8; 121:5. (3) A third option is to revocalize אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”) as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”; see v. 1). In this case one may translate, “My lord, at his [God’s] right hand, strikes down.” In this case the king is the subject of the third person verbs in vv. 5b-7.

[110:5]  ² tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 5-6 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing. Another option is to take them as rhetorical. In this case the psalmist describes anticipated events as if they had already taken place.

[110:5]  ³ tn Heb “in the day of his anger.”

[51:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “a broken spirit.”

[51:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”

[51:17]  ⁶ tn Or “despise.”

[2:9]  ⁷ tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.

[2:9]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.

[2:9]  ⁹ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.

[51:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.

[51:8]  ¹¹ sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.

[51:8]  ¹² tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.

[18:42]  ¹³ tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”

[18:42]  ¹⁴ tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.

[18:42]  ¹⁵ tn Or “mud.”

[34:18]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.

[34:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”

[69:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.

[69:20]  ¹⁹ tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.

[69:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “wait.”

[69:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.

[119:20]  ²² tn Heb “my soul languishes for longing for.”

[46:9]  ²³ tn Heb “[the] one who causes wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” The participle continues the description begun in v. 8b and indicates that this is the Lord’s characteristic activity. Ironically, he brings peace to the earth by devastating the warlike, hostile nations (vv. 8, 9b).

[46:9]  ²⁴ tn The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Ps 29:5). In the OT it occurs thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3). The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ²⁵ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries along the generalizing emphasis of the preceding imperfect.

[46:9]  ²⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “wagons he burns with fire.” Some read “chariots” here (cf. NASB), but the Hebrew word refers to wagons or carts, not chariots, elsewhere in the OT. In this context, where military weapons are mentioned, it is better to revocalize the form as עֲגִלוֹת (’agilot, “round shields”), a word which occurs only here in the OT, but is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic.

[147:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the one who heals.”

[74:14]  ²⁹ sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (’aqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.

[74:14]  ³⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.

[74:14]  ³¹ sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).

[68:21]  ³² tn Heb “the hairy forehead of the one who walks about in his guilt.” The singular is representative.

[38:8]  ³³ tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.”

[38:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.”

[94:5]  ³⁵ tn Or “your inheritance.”

[72:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “judge [for].”

[72:4]  ³⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “sons.”

[89:10]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Rahab.” The name “Rahab” means “proud one.” Since it is sometimes used of Egypt (see Ps 87:4; Isa 30:7), the passage may allude to the exodus. However, the name is also used of the sea (or the mythological sea creature) which symbolizes the disruptive forces of the world that seek to replace order with chaos (see Job 9:13; 26:12). Isa 51:9 appears to combine the mythological and historical referents. The association of Rahab with the sea in Ps 89 (see v. 9) suggests that the name carries symbolic force in this context. In this case the passage may allude to creation (see vv. 11-12), when God overcame the great deep and brought order out of chaos.

[89:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “like one fatally wounded.”

[110:6]  ⁴¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 6-7 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though they could be taken as future.

[110:6]  ⁴² tn Or “among.”

[110:6]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he fills [with] corpses,” but one expects a double accusative here. The translation assumes an emendation to גְוִיּוֹת גֵאָיוֹת(בִּ) מִלֵּא or מִלֵּא גֵאָיוֹת גְּוִיוֹת (for a similar construction see Ezek 32:5). In the former case גֵאָיוֹת(ge’ayot) has accidentally dropped from the text due to homoioteleuton; in the latter case it has dropped out due to homoioarcton.

[110:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “he strikes [the verb is מָחַץ (makhats), translated “strikes down” in v. 5] head[s] over a great land.” The Hebrew term רַבָּה (rabbah, “great”) is here used of distance or spatial measurement (see 1 Sam 26:13).

[69:10]  ⁴⁵ sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[69:10]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”

[74:13]  ⁴⁷ tn The derivation and meaning of the Polel verb form פּוֹרַרְתָּ (porarta) are uncertain. The form may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “break, shatter,” though the biblical Hebrew cognate of this verb always appears in the Hiphil or Hophal stem. BDB 830 s.v. II פָּרַר suggests a homonym here, meaning “to split; to divide.” A Hitpolel form of a root פָּרַר (parar) appears in Isa 24:19 with the meaning “to shake violently.”

[74:13]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has been misunderstood as a plural ending. The imagery of the mythological sea monster is utilized here. See the note on “Leviathan” in v. 14.

[107:16]  ⁴⁹ sn The language of v. 16 recalls Isa 45:2.

[18:38]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”

[18:38]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”

[18:38]  ⁵² sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.

[39:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “remove from upon me your wound.”

[39:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “from the hostility of your hand I have come to an end.”

[44:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “yet you have battered us in a place of jackals.”

[44:19]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל+מָוֶת [mavet + tsel]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other scholars prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness” (cf. NIV, NRSV). An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 44:19 darkness symbolizes defeat and humiliation.

[91:13]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “walk upon.”

[91:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Or perhaps “cobra” (see Ps 58:4).

[107:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he subdued with suffering their heart.”

[42:6]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.

[42:6]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.

[42:6]  ⁶² tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.

[42:6]  ⁶³ tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.

[62:3]  ⁶⁴ tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”

[62:3]  ⁶⁵ tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.

[62:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).