Mazmur 18:18

18:18 They confronted ¹  me in my day of calamity,

but the Lord helped me. ² 

Mazmur 50:22

50:22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! ³ 

Otherwise I will rip you to shreds ⁴ 

and no one will be able to rescue you.

Mazmur 55:6

55:6 I say, ⁵  “I wish I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and settle in a safe place!

Mazmur 58:8

58:8 Let them be ⁶  like a snail that melts away as it moves along! ⁷ 

Let them be like ⁸  stillborn babies ⁹  that never see the sun!

Mazmur 64:8

64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. ¹⁰ 

All who see them will shudder, ¹¹ 

Mazmur 65:3

65:3 Our record of sins overwhelms me, ¹² 

but you forgive ¹³  our acts of rebellion.

Mazmur 78:66

78:66 He drove his enemies back;

he made them a permanent target for insults. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 84:4

84:4 How blessed ¹⁵  are those who live in your temple

and praise you continually! (Selah)

Mazmur 88:4

88:4 They treat me like ¹⁶  those who descend into the grave. ¹⁷ 

I am like a helpless man, ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 90:11

90:11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? ¹⁹ 

Your raging fury causes people to fear you. ²⁰ 

[18:18]  ¹ tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 5. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

[18:18]  ² tn Heb “became my support.”

[50:22]  ³ tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.

[50:22]  ⁴ sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).

[55:6]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the verbs in v. 5.

[58:8]  ⁶ tn There is no “to be” verb in the Hebrew text at this point, but a jussive tone can be assumed based on vv. 6-7.

[58:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a melting snail [that] moves along.” A. Cohen (Psalms [SoBB], 184) explains that the text here alludes “to the popular belief that the slimy trail which the snail leaves in its track is the dissolution of its substance.”

[58:8]  ⁸ tn The words “let them be like” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The jussive mood is implied from the preceding context, and “like” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[58:8]  ⁹ tn This rare word also appears in Job 3:16 and Eccles 6:3.

[64:8]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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.

[65:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”

[65:3]  ¹³ tn Or “make atonement for.”

[78:66]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”

[84:4]  ¹⁵ 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).

[88:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I am considered with.”

[88:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[88:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”

[90:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Who knows the strength of your anger?”

[90:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and like your fear [is] your raging fury.” Perhaps one should emend וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ (ukhyir’otekh, “and like your fear”) to יִרְאָתְךְ (yir’otkh, “your fear”), understanding a virtual dittography (אַפֶּךָ וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ, ’apekha ukhyir’otekh) to have occurred. In this case the psalmist asserts “your fear [is] your raging fury,” that is, your raging fury is what causes others to fear you. The suffix on “fear” is understood as objective.