Mazmur 18:7

18:7 The earth heaved and shook; ¹ 

the roots of the mountains ²  trembled; ³ 

they heaved because he was angry.

Mazmur 56:7

56:7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape! ⁴ 

In your anger ⁵  bring down the nations, ⁶  O God!

Mazmur 76:7

76:7 You are awesome! Yes, you!

Who can withstand your intense anger? ⁷ 

Mazmur 79:5

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ⁸ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ⁹  burn like fire?

Mazmur 80:4

80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior! ¹⁰ 

How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? ¹¹ 

Mazmur 88:16

88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; ¹² 

your terrors destroy me.

Mazmur 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ¹³ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

Mazmur 95:11

95:11 So I made a vow in my anger,

‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’” ¹⁴ 

[18:7]  ¹ sn The earth heaved and shook. The imagery pictures an earthquake in which the earth’s surface rises and falls. The earthquake motif is common in OT theophanies of God as warrior and in ancient Near Eastern literary descriptions of warring gods and kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 160-62.

[18:7]  ² tn 2 Sam 22:8 has “heavens” which forms a merism with “earth” in the preceding line. The “foundations of the heavens” would be the mountains. However, the reading “foundations of the mountains” has a parallel in Deut 32:22.

[18:7]  ³ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the three prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive in the verse.

[56:7]  ⁴ tc Heb “because of wickedness, deliverance to them.” As it stands, the MT makes no sense. The negative particle אַיִן (’ayin, “there is not,” which is due to dittography of the immediately preceding אָוֶן, ’aven, “wickedness”), should probably be added before “deliverance” (see BHS, note a). The presence of an imperative in the next line (note “bring down”) suggests that this line should be translated as a prayer as well, “may there not be deliverance to them.”

[56:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “in anger.” The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:7]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “people” in a general sense.

[76:7]  ⁷ tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).

[79:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ⁹ tn Or “jealous anger.”

[80:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot; “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. In this context the term “hosts” (meaning “armies”) has been rendered “invincible warrior.”

[80:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.

[88:16]  ¹² tn Heb “passes over me.”

[89:46]  ¹³ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[95:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).