Mazmur 89:40

89:40 You have broken down all his ¹  walls;

you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.

Mazmur 32:6

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ²  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ³ 

Certainly ⁴  when the surging water ⁵  rises,

it will not reach them. ⁶ 

Mazmur 18:4

18:4 The waves ⁷  of death engulfed me,

the currents ⁸  of chaos ⁹  overwhelmed me. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 80:12

80:12 Why did you break down its walls, ¹¹ 

so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? ¹² 

Mazmur 86:7

86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,

for you will answer me.

Mazmur 38:3

38:3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment; ¹³ 

I am deprived of health because of my sin. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 42:7

42:7 One deep stream calls out to another ¹⁵  at the sound of your waterfalls; ¹⁶ 

all your billows and waves overwhelm me. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 55:3

55:3 because of what the enemy says, ¹⁸ 

and because of how the wicked ¹⁹  pressure me, ²⁰ 

for they hurl trouble ²¹  down upon me ²² 

and angrily attack me.

Mazmur 69:15

69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!

Don’t let the deep swallow me up!

Don’t let the pit ²³  devour me! ²⁴ 

Mazmur 88:7

88:7 Your anger bears down on me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)

Mazmur 88:16

88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; ²⁵ 

your terrors destroy me.

Mazmur 42:6

42:6 I am depressed, ²⁶ 

so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, ²⁷ 

from Hermon, ²⁸  from Mount Mizar. ²⁹ 

Mazmur 58:9

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, ³⁰ 

he ³¹  will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. ³² 

[89:40]  ¹ tn The king here represents the land and cities over which he rules.

[32:6]  ² tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ³ tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ⁵ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.

[18:4]  ⁷ tc Ps 18:4 reads “ropes,” while 2 Sam 22:5 reads “waves.” The reading of the psalm has been influenced by the next verse (note “ropes of Sheol”) and perhaps also by Ps 116:3 (where “ropes of death” appears, as here, with the verb אָפַף, ’afaf). However, the parallelism of v. 4 (note “currents” in the next line) favors the reading “waves.” While the verb אָפַף is used with “ropes” as subject in Ps 116:3, it can also be used with engulfing “waters” as subject (see Jonah 2:5). Death is compared to surging waters in v. 4 and to a hunter in v. 5.

[18:4]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew noun נַחַל (nakhal) usually refers to a river or stream, but in this context the plural form likely refers to the currents of the sea (see vv. 15-16).

[18:4]  ⁹ tn The noun בְלִיַּעַל (vÿliyya’al) is used here as an epithet for death. Elsewhere it is a common noun meaning “wickedness, uselessness.” It is often associated with rebellion against authority and other crimes that result in societal disorder and anarchy. The phrase “man/son of wickedness” refers to one who opposes God and the order he has established. The term becomes an appropriate title for death, which, through human forces, launches an attack against God’s chosen servant.

[18:4]  ¹⁰ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. (Note the perfect verbal form in the parallel/preceding line.) The verb בָּעַת (ba’at) sometimes by metonymy carries the nuance “frighten,” but the parallelism (see “engulfed”) favors the meaning “overwhelm” here.

[80:12]  ¹¹ sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).

[80:12]  ¹² tn Heb “pluck it.”

[38:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.

[38:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”

[42:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).

[42:7]  ¹⁶ tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.

[42:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.

[55:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “because of [the] voice of [the] enemy.”

[55:3]  ¹⁹ tn The singular forms “enemy” and “wicked” are collective or representative, as the plural verb forms in the second half of the verse indicate.

[55:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from before the pressure of the wicked.” Some suggest the meaning “screech” (note the parallel “voice”; cf. NEB “shrill clamour”; NRSV “clamor”) for the rare noun עָקָה (’aqah, “pressure”).

[55:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “wickedness,” but here the term refers to the destructive effects of their wicked acts.

[55:3]  ²² tc The verb form in the MT appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוֹט (mot, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in the Kethib (consonantal text) of Ps 140:10, where the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read. Here in Ps 55:3 it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). It is odd for “rain down” to be used with an abstract object like “wickedness,” but in Job 20:23 God “rains down” anger (unless one emends the text there; see BHS).

[69:15]  ²³ tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).

[69:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”

[88:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “passes over me.”

[42:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.

[42:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.

[42:6]  ²⁸ tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.

[42:6]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.

[58:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”

[58:9]  ³¹ tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.

[58:9]  ³² tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.