Mazmur 27:11

27:11 Teach me how you want me to live; ¹ 

lead me along a level path ²  because of those who wait to ambush me! ³ 

Mazmur 38:19

38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; ⁴ 

those who hate me without cause outnumber me. ⁵ 

Mazmur 41:5

41:5 My enemies ask this cruel question about me, ⁶ 

‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’ ⁷ 

Mazmur 56:2

56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat ⁸  attack me all day long.

Indeed, ⁹  many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 56:9

56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; ¹¹ 

I know that God is on my side. ¹² 

Mazmur 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ¹³  before you.

Mazmur 78:53

78:53 He guided them safely along,

while the sea covered their enemies.

Mazmur 80:6

80:6 You have made our neighbors dislike us, ¹⁴ 

and our enemies insult us.

Mazmur 81:14

81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,

and attack ¹⁵  their adversaries.”

Mazmur 89:10

89:10 You crushed the Proud One ¹⁶  and killed it; ¹⁷ 

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

Mazmur 119:98

119:98 Your commandments ¹⁸  make me wiser than my enemies,

for I am always aware of them.

Mazmur 127:5

127:5 How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

They will not be put to shame ¹⁹  when they confront ²⁰  enemies at the city gate.

[27:11]  ¹ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles which he expects the psalmist to follow. See Ps 25:4.

[27:11]  ² sn The level path refers to God’s moral principles (see the parallel line), which, if followed, will keep the psalmist blameless before his accusers (see v. 12).

[27:11]  ³ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.

[38:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).

[38:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “are many.”

[41:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “my enemies speak evil concerning me.”

[41:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and his name perish.”

[56:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 59:10.

[56:2]  ⁹ tn Or “for.”

[56:2]  ¹⁰ tn Some take the Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “on high; above”) as an adverb modifying the preceding participle and translate, “proudly” (cf. NASB; NIV “in their pride”). The present translation assumes the term is a divine title here. The Lord is pictured as enthroned “on high” in Ps 92:8. (Note the substantival use of the term in Isa 24:4 and see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:34), who prefer to place the term at the beginning of the next verse.)

[56:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.

[56:9]  ¹² tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”

[66:3]  ¹³ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[80:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you have made us an object of contention to our neighbors.”

[81:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).

[89:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Rahab.” The name “Rahab” means “proud one.” Since it is sometimes used of Egypt (see Ps 87:4; Isa 30:7), the passage may allude to the exodus. However, the name is also used of the sea (or the mythological sea creature) which symbolizes the disruptive forces of the world that seek to replace order with chaos (see Job 9:13; 26:12). Isa 51:9 appears to combine the mythological and historical referents. The association of Rahab with the sea in Ps 89 (see v. 9) suggests that the name carries symbolic force in this context. In this case the passage may allude to creation (see vv. 11-12), when God overcame the great deep and brought order out of chaos.

[89:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like one fatally wounded.”

[119:98]  ¹⁸ tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The Lord’s “command” refers here to the law (see Ps 19:8).

[127:5]  ¹⁹ tn Being “put to shame” is here metonymic for being defeated, probably in a legal context, as the reference to the city gate suggests. One could be humiliated (Ps 69:12) or deprived of justice (Amos 5:12) at the gate, but with strong sons to defend the family interests this was less likely to happen.

[127:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “speak with.”