Mazmur 22:13

22:13 They ¹  open their mouths to devour me ² 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ³ 

Mazmur 35:21

35:21 They are ready to devour me; ⁴ 

they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!” ⁵ 

Mazmur 144:8

144:8 who speak lies,

and make false promises. ⁶ 

Mazmur 144:11

144:11 Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners, ⁷ 

who speak lies,

and make false promises. ⁸ 

[22:13]  ¹ tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ² tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).

[22:13]  ³ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[35:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they cause their mouth to be wide against me.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the generalizing mood of the previous verse. For other examples of this use of the prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive, see GKC 329 §111.t.

[35:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “our eye sees.” Apparently this is an idiom meaning to “look in triumph” or “gloat over” (see Ps 54:7).

[144:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” The reference to the “right hand” is probably a metonymy for an oath. When making an oath, one would raise the hand as a solemn gesture. See Exod 6:8; Num 14:30; Deut 32:40. The figure thus represents the making of false oaths (false promises).

[144:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”

[144:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” See v. 8 where the same expression occurs.