Mazmur 125:3

125:3 Indeed, ¹  the scepter of a wicked king ²  will not settle ³ 

upon the allotted land of the godly.

Otherwise the godly might

do what is wrong. ⁴ 

Mazmur 69:4

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, ⁵  outnumber me. ⁶ 

They make me repay what I did not steal! ⁷ 

Mazmur 119:105

נ (Nun)

119:105 Your word ⁸  is a lamp to walk by,

and a light to illumine my path. ⁹ 

[125:3]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[125:3]  ² tn Heb “a scepter of wickedness.” The “scepter” symbolizes royal authority; when collocated with “wickedness” the phrase refers to an oppressive foreign conqueror.

[125:3]  ³ tn Or “rest.”

[125:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that the godly might not stretch out their hands in wrongdoing.” A wicked king who sets a sinful example can have an adverse moral and ethical effect on the people he rules.

[69:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).

[69:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).

[69:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.

[69:4]  sn They make me repay what I did not steal. The psalmist’s enemies falsely accuse him and hold him accountable for alleged crimes he did not even commit.

[119:105]  ⁸ tn Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural (“words”).

[119:105]  ⁹ tn Heb “[is] a lamp for my foot and a light for my path.”