Mazmur 31:11

31:11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me; ¹ 

my neighbors are appalled by my suffering ²  –

those who know me are horrified by my condition; ³ 

those who see me in the street run away from me.

Mazmur 31:17

31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,

for I call out to you!

May evil men be humiliated!

May they go wailing to the grave! ⁴ 

Mazmur 58:9

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, ⁵ 

he ⁶  will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. ⁷ 

Mazmur 68:6

68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; ⁸ 

he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. ⁹ 

But sinful rebels live in the desert. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 86:17

86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! ¹¹ 

Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, ¹² 

for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. ¹³ 

Mazmur 127:2

127:2 It is vain for you to rise early, come home late,

and work so hard for your food. ¹⁴ 

Yes, ¹⁵  he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 140:4

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ¹⁷  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ¹⁸ 

[31:11]  ¹ tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”

[31:11]  ² tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests it is textually corrupt. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (me’od, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (’ed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (’ed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).

[31:11]  ³ tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”

[31:17]  ⁴ tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”

[58:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”

[58:9]  ⁶ tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.

[58:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.

[68:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in a parched [land].”

[68:6]  sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.

[86:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

[86:17]  ¹² tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

[86:17]  ¹³ tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).

[127:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[it is] vain for you, you who are early to rise, who delay sitting, who eat the food of hard work.” The three substantival participles are parallel and stand in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the preposition. See לָכֶם (lakhem, “for you”).

[127:2]  ¹⁵ tn Here the Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4; Ps 63:2).

[127:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he gives to his beloved, sleep.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew term שֵׁנָא (shena’, “sleep,” an alternate form of שֵׁנָה, shenah) is an adverbial accusative. The point seems to be this: Hard work by itself is not what counts, but one’s relationship to God, for God is able to bless an individual even while he sleeps. (There may even be a subtle allusion to the miracle of conception following sexual intercourse; see the reference to the gift of sons in the following verse.) The statement is not advocating laziness, but utilizing hyperbole to give perspective and to remind the addressees that God must be one’s first priority. Another option is to take “sleep” as the direct object: “yes, he gives sleep to his beloved” (cf. NIV, NRSV). In this case the point is this: Hard work by itself is futile, for only God is able to bless one with sleep, which metonymically refers to having one’s needs met. He blesses on the basis of one’s relationship to him, not on the basis of physical energy expended.

[140:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to push down my steps.”