Mazmur 12:4

12:4 They say, ¹  “We speak persuasively; ² 

we know how to flatter and boast. ³ 

Who is our master?” ⁴ 

Mazmur 27:11

27:11 Teach me how you want me to live; ⁵ 

lead me along a level path ⁶  because of those who wait to ambush me! ⁷ 

Mazmur 38:13

38:13 But I am like a deaf man – I hear nothing;

I am like a mute who cannot speak. ⁸ 

Mazmur 58:4

58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake, ⁹ 

like a deaf serpent ¹⁰  that does not hear, ¹¹ 

Mazmur 64:4

64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent ¹²  in secluded places.

They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. ¹³ 

Mazmur 64:8

64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. ¹⁴ 

All who see them will shudder, ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 68:21

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

the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 81:10

81:10 I am the Lord, your God,

the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!’

Mazmur 84:4

84:4 How blessed ¹⁷  are those who live in your temple

and praise you continually! (Selah)

Mazmur 86:9

86:9 All the nations, whom you created,

will come and worship you, ¹⁸  O Lord.

They will honor your name.

Mazmur 89:8

89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! ¹⁹ 

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Mazmur 89:10-11

89:10 You crushed the Proud One ²⁰  and killed it; ²¹ 

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

89:11 The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.

You made the world and all it contains. ²² 

Mazmur 106:38

106:38 They shed innocent blood –

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

The land was polluted by bloodshed. ²³ 

[12:4]  ¹ tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.

[12:4]  ² tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.

[12:4]  ³ tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.

[12:4]  ⁴ sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.

[27:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles which he expects the psalmist to follow. See Ps 25:4.

[27:11]  ⁶ sn The level path refers to God’s moral principles (see the parallel line), which, if followed, will keep the psalmist blameless before his accusers (see v. 12).

[27:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.

[38:13]  ⁸ sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).

[58:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “[there is] venom to them according to the likeness of venom of a snake.”

[58:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps “cobra” (cf. NASB, NIV). Other suggested species of snakes are “asp” (NEB) and “adder” (NRSV).

[58:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[that] stops up its ear.” The apparent Hiphil jussive verbal form should be understood as a Qal imperfect with “i” theme vowel (see GKC 168 §63.n).

[64:4]  ¹² tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.

[64:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[64:8]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.

[64:8]  ¹⁵ tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.

[68:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the hairy forehead of the one who walks about in his guilt.” The singular is representative.

[84:4]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[86:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “bow down before you.”

[89:8]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.

[89:10]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “like one fatally wounded.”

[89:11]  ²² tn Heb “the world and its fullness, you established them.”

[106:38]  ²³ sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.