Mazmur 37:36

37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared! ¹ 

I looked for them, but they could not be found.

Mazmur 73:4

73:4 For they suffer no pain; ² 

their bodies ³  are strong and well-fed. ⁴ 

Mazmur 105:34

105:34 He ordered locusts to come, ⁵ 

innumerable grasshoppers.

Mazmur 105:37

105:37 He brought his people ⁶  out enriched ⁷  with silver and gold;

none of his tribes stumbled.

Mazmur 107:12

107:12 So he used suffering to humble them; ⁸ 

they stumbled and no one helped them up.

[37:36]  ¹ tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).

[73:4]  ² tn In Isa 58:6, the only other occurrence of this word in the OT, the term refers to “bonds” or “ropes.” In Ps 73:4 it is used metaphorically of pain and suffering that restricts one’s enjoyment of life.

[73:4]  ³ tn Or “bellies.”

[73:4]  ⁴ tc Or “fat.” The MT of v. 4 reads as follows: “for there are no pains at their death, and fat [is] their body.” Since a reference to the death of the wicked seems incongruous in the immediate context (note v. 5) and premature in the argument of the psalm (see vv. 18-20, 27), some prefer to emend the text by redividing it. The term לְמוֹתָם (lÿmotam,“at their death”) is changed to לָמוֹ תָּם (lamo tam, “[there are no pains] to them, strong [and fat are their bodies]”). The term תָּם (tam, “complete; sound”) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9. This emendation is the basis for the present translation. However, in defense of the MT (the traditional Hebrew text), one may point to an Aramaic inscription from Nerab which views a painful death as a curse and a nonpainful death in one’s old age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.

[105:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”

[105:37]  ⁶ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Lord’s people) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[105:37]  ⁷ tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[107:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he subdued with suffering their heart.”