Mazmur 78:10

78:10 They did not keep their covenant with God, ¹ 

and they refused to obey ²  his law.

Mazmur 79:3

79:3 They have made their blood flow like water

all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. ³ 

Mazmur 83:5

83:5 Yes, ⁴  they devise a unified strategy; ⁵ 

they form an alliance ⁶  against you.

Mazmur 140:3

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ⁷ 

a viper’s ⁸  venom is behind ⁹  their lips. (Selah)

[78:10]  ¹ tn Heb “the covenant of God.”

[78:10]  ² tn Heb “walk in.”

[79:3]  ³ tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”

[83:5]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[83:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”

[83:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[140:3]  ⁷ 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.”

[140:3]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “under.”