Mazmur 14:6

14:6 You want to humiliate the oppressed, ¹ 

even though ²  the Lord is their ³  shelter.

Mazmur 26:10

26:10 who are always ready to do wrong ⁴ 

or offer a bribe. ⁵ 

Mazmur 37:13

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ⁶  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ⁷ 

Mazmur 37:15

37:15 Their swords will pierce ⁸  their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

Mazmur 50:20

50:20 You plot against your brother; ⁹ 

you slander your own brother. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 66:18

66:18 If I had harbored sin in my heart, ¹¹ 

the Lord would not have listened.

Mazmur 73:7

73:7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong; ¹² 

their thoughts are sinful. ¹³ 

Mazmur 94:20

94:20 Cruel rulers ¹⁴  are not your allies,

those who make oppressive laws. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 106:35

106:35 They mixed in with the nations

and learned their ways. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 107:34

107:34 and a fruitful land into a barren place, ¹⁷ 

because of the sin of its inhabitants.

Mazmur 109:4

109:4 They repay my love with accusations, ¹⁸ 

but I continue to pray. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 129:3

129:3 The plowers plowed my back;

they made their furrows long.

Mazmur 141:10

141:10 Let the wicked fall ²⁰  into their ²¹  own nets,

while I escape. ²² 

[14:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame.” Using a second person plural verb form, the psalmist addresses the wicked. Since the context indicates their attempt to harm the godly will be thwarted, the imperfect should be taken in a subjunctive (cf. NASB, NRSV) rather than an indicative manner (cf. NIV). Here it probably expresses their desire or intent (“want to humiliate”).

[14:6]  ² tn It is unlikely that כִּי (ki) has a causal force here. The translation assumes a concessive force; another option is to understand an asseverative use (“certainly, indeed”).

[14:6]  ³ tn Heb “his.” The antecedent of the singular pronoun is the singular form עָנִי (’ani, “oppressed”) in the preceding line. The singular is collective or representative here (and thus translated as plural, “they”).

[26:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”

[26:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”

[37:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[37:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.

[37:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “enter into.”

[50:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).

[50:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”

[66:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”

[73:7]  ¹² tc The MT reads “it goes out from fatness their eye,” which might be paraphrased, “their eye protrudes [or “bulges”] because of fatness.” This in turn might refer to their greed; their eyes “bug out” when they see rich food or produce (the noun חֵלֶב [khelev, “fatness”] sometimes refers to such food or produce). However, when used with the verb יָצָא (yatsa’, “go out”) the preposition מִן (“from”) more naturally indicates source. For this reason it is preferable to emend עֵינֵמוֹ (’enemo, “their eye”) to עֲוֹנָמוֹ, (’avonamo, “their sin”) and read, “and their sin proceeds forth from fatness,” that is, their prosperity gives rise to their sinful attitudes. If one follows this textual reading, another interpretive option is to take חֵלֶב (“fatness”) in the sense of “unreceptive, insensitive” (see its use in Ps 17:10). In this case, the sin of the wicked proceeds forth from their spiritual insensitivity.

[73:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “the thoughts of [their] heart [i.e., mind] cross over” (i.e., violate God’s moral boundary, see Ps 17:3).

[94:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.

[94:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.

[106:35]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their deeds.”

[107:34]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a salty land.”

[109:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

[109:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

[141:10]  ²⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, “the wicked will fall.”

[141:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “his.”

[141:10]  ²² tn Heb “at the same [that] I, until I pass by.” Another option is to take יַחַד (yakhad) with the preceding line, “let the wicked fall together into their own nets.”