Mazmur 22:12

22:12 Many bulls ¹  surround me;

powerful bulls of Bashan ²  hem me in.

Mazmur 35:24

35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!

Do not let them gloat ³  over me!

Mazmur 44:16

44:16 before the vindictive enemy

who ridicules and insults me. ⁴ 

Mazmur 49:5

49:5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, ⁵ 

when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me? ⁶ 

Mazmur 83:10

83:10 They were destroyed at Endor; ⁷ 

their corpses were like manure ⁸  on the ground.

Mazmur 97:3

97:3 Fire goes before him;

on every side ⁹  it burns up his enemies.

Mazmur 106:41

106:41 He handed them over to ¹⁰  the nations,

and those who hated them ruled over them.

Mazmur 107:2

107:2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out, ¹¹ 

those whom he delivered ¹²  from the power ¹³  of the enemy,

Mazmur 119:157

119:157 The enemies who chase me are numerous. ¹⁴ 

Yet I do not turn aside from your rules.

Mazmur 129:2

129:2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,

but they have not defeated me.

[22:12]  ¹ sn The psalmist figuratively compares his enemies to dangerous bulls.

[22:12]  ² sn Bashan, located east of the Jordan River, was well-known for its cattle. See Ezek 39:18; Amos 4:1.

[35:24]  ³ tn Heb “rejoice.”

[44:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the voice of one who ridicules and insults, from the face of an enemy and an avenger.” See Ps 8:2.

[49:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “days of trouble.” The phrase also occurs in Ps 94:13. The question is rhetorical; there is no reason to be afraid when the rich oppressors threaten the weak (see v. 17). The following verses explain why this is so.

[49:5]  ⁶ tc The MT has, “the iniquity of my heels surrounds me.” The clause is best understood as temporal and as elaborating on the preceding phrase “times of trouble.” If the MT is retained, the genitive “of my heels” would probably indicate location (“the iniquity at my heels”); the sinful actions of the rich threaten to overtake the psalmist, as it were. It is better, however, to emend עֲקֵבַי (’aqivay, “my heels”) to either (1) עֲקֻבַּי (’aqubay, “my deceitful ones,” i.e., “those who deceive me” [from the adjective עָקֹב (’aqov), “deceitful,” see Jer 17:9]) or (2) עֹקְבַי (’oqÿvay, “those who deceive me” [a suffixed active participle from עָקַב, ’aqav, “betray, deceive”]). Origen’s transliteration of the Hebrew text favors the first of these options. Either of the emendations provides a much smoother transition to v. 6, because “those who trust in their wealth” would then be appositional to “those who deceive me.”

[83:10]  ⁷ sn Endor is not mentioned in the accounts of Gideon’s or Barak’s victories, but both battles took place in the general vicinity of the town. (See Y. Aharoni and M. Avi-Yonah, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, 46, 54.) Because Sisera and Jabin are mentioned in v. 9b, many understand them to be the subject of the verbs in v. 10, though they relate v. 10 to Gideon’s victory, which is referred to in v. 9a, 11. (See, for example, Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 263.)

[83:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “they were manure.” In addition to this passage, corpses are compared to manure in 2 Kgs 9:37; Jer 8:2; 9:21; 16:4; 25:33.

[97:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “all around.”

[106:41]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[107:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “let the redeemed of the Lord say [so].”

[107:2]  ¹² tn Or “redeemed.”

[107:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “hand.”

[119:157]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “many [are] those who chase me and my enemies.”