Mazmur 48:6

48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, ¹ 

like a woman writhing in childbirth. ² 

Mazmur 48:11

48:11 Mount Zion rejoices;

the towns ³  of Judah are happy, ⁴ 

because of your acts of judgment. ⁵ 

Mazmur 68:12

68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away! ⁶ 

The lovely lady ⁷  of the house divides up the loot.

Mazmur 106:38

106:38 They shed innocent blood –

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

The land was polluted by bloodshed. ⁸ 

[48:6]  ¹ tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[48:6]  ² tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”

[48:6]  sn The language of vv. 5-6 is reminiscent of Exod 15:15.

[48:11]  ³ tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[48:11]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [lÿma’an], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)

[48:11]  ⁵ sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.

[68:12]  ⁶ tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.

[68:12]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or corruption of נצוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.

[106:38]  ⁸ sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.