Mazmur 92:7-15

92:7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,

and all the evildoers glisten, ¹ 

it is so that they may be annihilated. ² 

92:8 But you, O Lord, reign ³  forever!

92:9 Indeed, ⁴  look at your enemies, O Lord!

Indeed, ⁵  look at how your enemies perish!

All the evildoers are scattered!

92:10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. ⁶ 

I am covered ⁷  with fresh oil.

92:11 I gloat in triumph over those who tried to ambush me; ⁸ 

I hear the defeated cries of the evil foes who attacked me. ⁹ 

92:12 The godly ¹⁰  grow like a palm tree;

they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. ¹¹ 

92:13 Planted in the Lord’s house,

they grow in the courts of our God.

92:14 They bear fruit even when they are old;

they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. ¹² 

92:15 So they proclaim that the Lord, my protector,

is just and never unfair. ¹³ 

[92:7]  ¹ tn Or “flourish.”

[92:7]  ² tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”

[92:7]  sn God allows the wicked to prosper temporarily so that he might reveal his justice. When the wicked are annihilated, God demonstrates that wickedness does not pay off.

[92:8]  ³ tn Heb “[are elevated] on high.”

[92:9]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[92:9]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[92:10]  ⁶ sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).

[92:10]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotaniy; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”

[92:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “my eye gazes upon those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2. The form שׁוּרָי (shuray) should be emended to שׁוֹרְרָי (shorÿray).

[92:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “those who rise up against me, evil [foes], my ears hear.”

[92:12]  ¹⁰ tn The singular is used in a representative sense, with the typical godly person being in view.

[92:12]  ¹¹ sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size.

[92:14]  ¹² tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”

[92:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “so that [they] proclaim that upright [is] the Lord, my rocky summit, and there is no injustice in him.”