Mazmur 58:4
Konteks58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake, 1
like a deaf serpent 2 that does not hear, 3
Mazmur 58:8
Konteks58:8 Let them be 4 like a snail that melts away as it moves along! 5
Let them be like 6 stillborn babies 7 that never see the sun!
Mazmur 61:6
Konteks61:6 Give the king long life!
Make his lifetime span several generations! 8
Mazmur 63:5
Konteks63:5 As if with choice meat 9 you satisfy my soul. 10
My mouth joyfully praises you, 11
Mazmur 79:5
Konteks79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? 12
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage 13 burn like fire?
Mazmur 89:46
Konteks89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?
Will you remain hidden forever? 14
Will your anger continue to burn like fire?
Mazmur 90:9
Konteks90:9 Yes, 15 throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; 16
the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. 17
Mazmur 92:7
Konteks92:7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and all the evildoers glisten, 18
it is so that they may be annihilated. 19
Mazmur 102:3
Konteks102:3 For my days go up in smoke, 20
and my bones are charred like a fireplace. 21
Mazmur 140:3
Konteks
[58:4] 1 tn Heb “[there is] venom to them according to the likeness of venom of a snake.”
[58:4] 2 tn Or perhaps “cobra” (cf. NASB, NIV). Other suggested species of snakes are “asp” (NEB) and “adder” (NRSV).
[58:4] 3 tn Heb “[that] stops up its ear.” The apparent Hiphil jussive verbal form should be understood as a Qal imperfect with “i” theme vowel (see GKC 168 §63.n).
[58:8] 4 tn There is no “to be” verb in the Hebrew text at this point, but a jussive tone can be assumed based on vv. 6-7.
[58:8] 5 tn Heb “like a melting snail [that] moves along.” A. Cohen (Psalms [SoBB], 184) explains that the text here alludes “to the popular belief that the slimy trail which the snail leaves in its track is the dissolution of its substance.”
[58:8] 6 tn The words “let them be like” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The jussive mood is implied from the preceding context, and “like” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).
[58:8] 7 tn This rare word also appears in Job 3:16 and Eccles 6:3.
[61:6] 8 tn Heb “days upon days of the king add, his years like generation and generation.”
[61:6] sn It is not certain if the (royal) psalmist is referring to himself in the third person in this verse, or if an exile is praying on behalf of the king.
[63:5] 9 tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”
[63:5] 11 tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”
[79:5] 12 tn Heb “How long, O
[79:5] 13 tn Or “jealous anger.”
[89:46] 14 tn Heb “How long, O
[90:9] 16 tn Heb “all our days pass by in your anger.”
[90:9] 17 tn Heb “we finish our years like a sigh.” In Ezek 2:10 the word הֶגֶה (hegeh) elsewhere refers to a grumbling or moaning sound. Here a brief sigh or moan is probably in view. If so, the simile pictures one’s lifetime as transient. Another option is that the simile alludes to the weakness that characteristically overtakes a person at the end of one’s lifetime. In this case the phrase could be translated, “we end our lives with a painful moan.”
[92:7] 19 tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”
[92:7] sn God allows the wicked to prosper temporarily so that he might reveal his justice. When the wicked are annihilated, God demonstrates that wickedness does not pay off.
[102:3] 20 tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
[102:3] 21 tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.
[140:3] 22 tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”
