Mazmur 59:3

59:3 For look, they wait to ambush me; ¹ 

powerful men stalk ²  me,

but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord. ³ 

Mazmur 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ⁴ 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ⁵ 

[59:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my life.”

[59:3]  ² tn The Hebrew verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 56:8.

[59:3]  ³ sn The point is that the psalmist’s enemies have no justifiable reason for attacking him. He has neither rebelled or sinned against the Lord.

[62:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ⁵ tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.