Mazmur 9:18

9:18 for the needy are not permanently ignored, ¹ 

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. ² 

Mazmur 31:9

31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!

My eyes grow dim ³  from suffering. ⁴ 

I have lost my strength. ⁵ 

Mazmur 5:9

5:9 For ⁶  they do not speak the truth; ⁷ 

their stomachs are like the place of destruction, ⁸ 

their throats like an open grave, ⁹ 

their tongues like a steep slope leading into it. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 9:12

9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; ¹¹ 

he did not overlook ¹²  their cry for help ¹³ 

Mazmur 30:1

Psalm 30 ¹⁴ 

A psalm – a song used at the dedication of the temple; ¹⁵  by David.

30:1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up, ¹⁶ 

and did not allow my enemies to gloat ¹⁷  over me.

Mazmur 31:13

31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, ¹⁸ 

the terrifying news that comes from every direction. ¹⁹ 

When they plot together against me,

they figure out how they can take my life.

[9:18]  ¹ tn Or “forgotten.”

[9:18]  ² tn Heb “the hope of the afflicted does [not] perish forever.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The imperfect verbal forms express what typically happens.

[31:9]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”

[31:9]  ⁴ tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.

[31:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.

[5:9]  ⁶ tn Or “certainly.”

[5:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “for there is not in his mouth truthfulness.” The singular pronoun (“his”) probably refers back to the “man of bloodshed and deceit” mentioned in v. 6. The singular is collective or representative, as the plural in the next line indicates, and so has been translated “they.”

[5:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “their inward part[s] [is] destruction.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse.

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “their throat is an open grave.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse. The metaphor is suggested by the physical resemblance of the human throat to a deeply dug grave; both are dark chasms.

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they make smooth their tongue.” Flattering, deceitful words are in view. See Ps 12:2. The psalmist’s deceitful enemies are compared to the realm of death/Sheol in v. 9b. Sheol was envisioned as a dark region within the earth, the entrance to which was the grave with its steep slopes (cf. Ps 88:4-6). The enemies’ victims are pictured here as slipping down a steep slope (the enemies’ tongues) and falling into an open grave (their throat) that terminates in destruction in the inner recesses of Sheol (their stomach). The enemies’ קרב (“inward part”) refers here to their thoughts and motives, which are destructive in their intent. The throat is where these destructive thoughts are transformed into words, and their tongue is what they use to speak the deceitful words that lead their innocent victims to their demise.

[5:9]  sn As the psalmist walks down the path in which God leads him, he asks the Lord to guide his steps and remove danger from the path (v. 8), because he knows his enemies have “dug a grave” for him and are ready to use their deceitful words to “swallow him up” like the realm of death (i.e., Sheol) and bring him to ruin.

[9:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ¹² tn Heb “did not forget.”

[9:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.

[30:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 30. The author thanks the Lord for delivering him from death and urges others to join him in praise. The psalmist experienced divine discipline for a brief time, but when he cried out for help the Lord intervened and restored his favor.

[30:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a song of the dedication of the house.” The referent of “house” is unclear. It is possible that David wrote this psalm for the dedication ceremony of Solomon’s temple. Another possibility is that the psalm was used on the occasion of the dedication of the second temple following the return from exile, or on the occasion of the rededication of the temple in Maccabean times.

[30:1]  ¹⁶ tn Elsewhere the verb דָּלָה (dalah) is used of drawing water from a well (Exod 2:16, 19; Prov 20:5). The psalmist was trapped in the pit leading to Sheol (see v. 3), but the Lord hoisted him up. The Piel stem is used here, perhaps suggesting special exertion on the Lord’s part.

[30:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “rejoice.”

[31:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the report of many.”

[31:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the terror from all around.”