Mazmur 48:6

48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, ¹ 

like a woman writhing in childbirth. ² 

Mazmur 78:13

78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;

he made the water stand in a heap.

Mazmur 83:3

83:3 They carefully plot ³  against your people,

and make plans to harm ⁴  the ones you cherish. ⁵ 

Mazmur 107:20

107:20 He sent them an assuring word ⁶  and healed them;

he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped. ⁷ 

[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.

[83:3]  ³ tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”

[83:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and consult together against.”

[83:3]  ⁵ tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”

[107:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “he sent his word.” This probably refers to an oracle of assurance which announced his intention to intervene (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 59).

[107:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “he rescued from their traps.” The Hebrew word שְׁחִית (shekhit, “trap”) occurs only here and in Lam 4:20, where it refers to a trap or pit in which one is captured. Because of the rarity of the term and the absence of an object with the verb “rescued,” some prefer to emend the text of Ps 107:20, reading מִשַׁחַת חַיָּתָם (mishakhat khayyatam, “[he rescued] their lives from the pit”). Note also NIV “from the grave,” which interprets the “pit” as Sheol or the grave.