Mazmur 7:2

7:2 Otherwise they will rip ¹  me ²  to shreds like a lion;

they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. ³ 

Mazmur 10:9

10:9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; ⁴ 

he lies in ambush, waiting to catch ⁵  the oppressed;

he catches the oppressed ⁶  by pulling in his net. ⁷ 

Mazmur 37:35

37:35 I have seen ruthless evil men ⁸ 

growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil. ⁹ 

Mazmur 48:6

48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, ¹⁰ 

like a woman writhing in childbirth. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 55:6

55:6 I say, ¹²  “I wish I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and settle in a safe place!

Mazmur 77:20

77:20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Mazmur 86:8

86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!

Your exploits are incomparable! ¹³ 

Mazmur 124:7

124:7 We escaped with our lives, ¹⁴  like a bird from a hunter’s snare.

The snare broke, and we escaped.

Mazmur 129:6

129:6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops

which withers before one can even pull it up, ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 133:2-3

133:2 It is like fine oil poured on the head

which flows down the beard ¹⁶  –

Aaron’s beard,

and then flows down his garments. ¹⁷ 

133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, ¹⁸ 

which flows down upon the hills of Zion. ¹⁹ 

Indeed ²⁰  that is where the Lord has decreed

a blessing will be available – eternal life. ²¹ 

[7:2]  ¹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew text, even though “all who chase me” in v. 1 refers to a whole group of enemies. The singular is also used in vv. 4-5, but the psalmist returns to the plural in v. 6. The singular is probably collective, emphasizing the united front that the psalmist’s enemies present. This same alternation between a collective singular and a plural referring to enemies appears in Pss 9:3, 6; 13:4; 31:4, 8; 41:6, 10-11; 42:9-10; 55:3; 64:1-2; 74:3-4; 89:22-23; 106:10-11; 143:3, 6, 9.

[7:2]  ² tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[7:2]  ³ tn Heb “tearing and there is no one rescuing.” The verbal form translated “tearing” is a singular active participle.

[10:9]  ⁴ tn Or “in its den.”

[10:9]  ⁵ tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.

[10:9]  ⁶ tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.

[10:9]  ⁷ tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”

[10:9]  sn The background of the imagery is hunting, where the hunter uses a net to entrap an unsuspecting bird or wild animal.

[37:35]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.

[37:35]  ⁹ tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mit’areh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (’arah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (’alah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.

[48:6]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”

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

[55:6]  ¹² tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the verbs in v. 5.

[86:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”

[124:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “our life escaped.”

[129:6]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁלַף (shalaf) normally means “to draw [a sword]” or “to pull.” BDB 1025 s.v. suggests the meaning “to shoot up” here, but it is more likely that the verb here means “to pluck; to pull up,” a nuance attested for this word in later Hebrew and Aramaic (see Jastrow 1587 s.v. שָׁלַף).

[133:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[it is] like the good oil on the head, going down on the beard.”

[133:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “which goes down in accordance with his measured things.” The Hebrew phrase מִדּוֹתָיו (middotayv, “his measured things”) refers here to the robes worn by Aaron. HALOT 546 s.v. *מַד derives the form from מַד (midah, “robe”) rather than מִדָּה (middah, “measured thing”). Ugaritic md means “robe” and is pluralized mdt.

[133:3]  ¹⁸ sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.

[133:3]  ¹⁹ sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

[133:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “for.”

[133:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever.”