Mazmur 7:5

7:5 may an enemy relentlessly chase ¹  me ²  and catch me; ³ 

may he trample me to death ⁴ 

and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. ⁵  (Selah)

Mazmur 7:7

7:7 The countries are assembled all around you; ⁶ 

take once more your rightful place over them! ⁷ 

Mazmur 10:2

10:2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; ⁸ 

the oppressed are trapped ⁹  by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 57:11

57:11 Rise up ¹¹  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ¹² 

Mazmur 59:14

59:14 They return in the evening;

they growl ¹³  like a dog

and prowl around outside ¹⁴  the city.

Mazmur 61:4

61:4 I will be a permanent guest in your home; ¹⁵ 

I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. ¹⁶  (Selah)

Mazmur 67:5

67:5 Let the nations thank you, O God!

Let all the nations thank you! ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 69:24

69:24 Pour out your judgment ¹⁸  on them!

May your raging anger ¹⁹  overtake them!

Mazmur 79:11

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ²⁰ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ²¹ 

Mazmur 80:16

80:16 It is burned ²²  and cut down.

They die because you are displeased with them. ²³ 

Mazmur 83:11

83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, ²⁴ 

and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna, ²⁵ 

Mazmur 96:12

96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!

Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy

[7:5]  ¹ tn The vocalization of the verb form seems to be a mixture of Qal and Piel (see GKC 168 §63.n). The translation assumes the Piel, which would emphasize the repetitive nature of the action. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a jussive. The psalmist is so certain that he is innocent of the sins mentioned in vv. 3-4, he pronounces an imprecation on himself for rhetorical effect.

[7:5]  ² tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[7:5]  ³ tn Heb “and may he overtake.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. The object “me,” though unexpressed, is understood from the preceding statement.

[7:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and may he trample down to the earth my life.”

[7:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my honor in the dust may he cause to dwell.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. Some emend כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy, “my honor”) to כְבֵדִי (khÿvediy, “my liver” as the seat of life), but the term כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy) is to be retained since it probably refers to the psalmist’s dignity or honor.

[7:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the assembly of the peoples surrounds you.” Some understand the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may the assembly of the peoples surround you.”

[7:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “over it (the feminine suffix refers back to the feminine noun “assembly” in the preceding line) on high return.” Some emend שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return”) to שֵׁבָה (shevah, “sit [in judgment]”) because they find the implication of “return” problematic. But the psalmist does not mean to imply that God has abandoned his royal throne and needs to regain it. Rather he simply urges God, as sovereign king of the world, to once more occupy his royal seat of judgment and execute judgment, as the OT pictures God doing periodically.

[10:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “because of the pride of [the] wicked he burns [i.e. hotly pursues] [the] oppressed.” The singular forms רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) and עָנִי (’aniy, “oppressed”) are collective and representative, as indicated in the next line, which uses plural verb forms to describe the actions of both.

[10:2]  ⁹ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 describe either what typically happens (from the psalmist’s perspective) or what the psalmist was experiencing at the time he offered this prayer.

[10:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they are trapped in the schemes which they have thought up.” The referents of the two pronominal suffixes on the verbs have been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent of the first suffix (“they”) is taken as the oppressed, while the referent of the second (“they”) is taken to be the wicked (cf. NIV, which renders “wicked” in the previous line as a collective singular). Others take the referent of both occurrences of “they” in the line to be the wicked (cf. NRSV, “let them be caught in the schemes they have devised”).

[57:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “be exalted.”

[57:11]  ¹² tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[59:14]  ¹³ tn Or “howl”; or “bark.”

[59:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “go around.”

[61:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will live as a resident alien in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[61:4]  ¹⁶ sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

[67:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 5 are understood as jussives in this call to praise.

[69:24]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger.

[69:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971), 17-81.

[79:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[80:16]  ²² tn Heb “burned with fire.”

[80:16]  ²³ tn Heb “because of the rebuke of your face they perish.”

[83:11]  ²⁴ sn Oreb and Zeeb were the generals of the Midianite army that was defeated by Gideon. The Ephraimites captured and executed both of them and sent their heads to Gideon (Judg 7:24-25).

[83:11]  ²⁵ sn Zebah and Zalmunna were the Midianite kings. Gideon captured them and executed them (Judg 8:1-21).