12:2 People lie to one another; 1
they flatter and deceive. 2
14:5 They are absolutely terrified, 3
for God defends the godly. 4
18:38 I beat them 5 to death; 6
they fall at my feet. 7
20:8 They will fall down, 8
but we 9 will stand firm. 10
25:13 They experience his favor; 11
their descendants 12 inherit the land. 13
48:4 For 14 look, the kings assemble; 15
they advance together.
79:7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
104:10 He turns springs into streams; 16
they flow between the mountains.
105:28 He made it dark; 17
they did not disobey his orders. 18
106:33 for they aroused 19 his temper, 20
and he spoke rashly. 21
106:35 They mixed in with the nations
and learned their ways. 22
106:36 They worshiped 23 their idols,
which became a snare to them. 24
106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. 25
106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority. 26
107:10 They sat in utter darkness, 27
bound in painful iron chains, 28
109:5 They repay me evil for good, 29
and hate for love.
115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
129:3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
135:16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe. 30
139:20 They 31 rebel against you 32 and act deceitfully; 33
your enemies lie. 34
139:22 I absolutely hate them, 35
they have become my enemies!
1 tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.
2 tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”
3 tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.
4 tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.
5 tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”
6 tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”
7 sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.
8 tn Or “stumble and fall down.”
9 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.
10 tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (’ud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.
11 tn Heb “his life in goodness dwells.” The singular is representative (see v. 14).
12 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
13 tn Or “earth.”
14 tn The logical connection between vv. 3-4 seems to be this: God is the protector of Zion and reveals himself as the city’s defender – this is necessary because hostile armies threaten the city.
15 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 4-6 are understood as descriptive. In dramatic style (note הִנֵּה, hinneh, “look”) the psalm describes an enemy attack against the city as if it were occurring at this very moment. Another option is to take the perfects as narrational (“the kings assembled, they advanced”), referring to a particular historical event, such as Sennacherib’s siege of the city in 701
16 tn Heb “[the] one who sends springs into streams.” Another option is to translate, “he sends streams [i.e., streams that originate from springs] into the valleys” (cf. NIV).
17 tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”
sn He made it dark. The psalmist begins with the ninth plague (see Exod 10:21-29).
18 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
19 tn The Hebrew text vocalizes the form as הִמְרוּ (himru), a Hiphil from מָרָה (marah, “to behave rebelliously”), but the verb fits better with the object (“his spirit”) if it is revocalized as הֵמֵרוּ (hemeru), a Hiphil from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”). The Israelites “embittered” Moses’ “spirit” in the sense that they aroused his temper with their complaints.
20 tn Heb “his spirit.”
21 tn The Hebrew text adds “with his lips,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
sn Verses 32-33 allude to the events of Num 20:1-13.
22 tn Heb “their deeds.”
23 tn Or “served.”
24 sn Became a snare. See Exod 23:33; Judg 2:3.
25 tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.
26 tn Heb “they were subdued under their hand.”
27 tn Heb “those who sat in darkness and deep darkness.” Synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of “darkness” experienced by the exiles. The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet, “deep darkness”) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל + מָוֶת [tsel + mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other authorities prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 107:10 the word refers metonymically to a dungeon, which in turn metaphorically depicts the place of Israel’s exile (see vv. 2-3).
28 tn Heb “those bound in suffering and iron.” “Suffering and iron” is a hendiadys (like English “good and angry”), where both words contribute to one idea. In this case the first word characterizes the second; the iron (chains) contribute to the prisoners’ pain and suffering.
29 tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”
30 tn Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”
31 tn Heb “who.”
32 tc Heb “they speak [of] you.” The suffixed form of the verb אָמַר (’amar, “to speak”) is peculiar. The translation assumes an emendation to יַמְרֻךָ (yamrukha), a Hiphil form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”; see Ps 78:40).
33 tn Heb “by deceit.”
34 tc Heb “lifted up for emptiness, your cities.” The Hebrew text as it stands makes no sense. The form נָשֻׂא (nasu’; a Qal passive participle) should be emended to נָשְׂאוּ (nosÿu; a Qal perfect, third common plural, “[they] lift up”). Many emend עָרֶיךָ (’arekha, “your cities”) to עָלֶיךָ (’alekha, “against you”), but it is preferable to understand the noun as an Aramaism and translate “your enemies” (see Dan 4:16 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 253).
35 tn Heb “[with] completeness of hatred I hate them.”