Psalms 12:3

12:3 May the Lord cut off ¹  all flattering lips,

and the tongue that boasts! ² 

Psalms 80:16

80:16 It is burned ³  and cut down.

They die because you are displeased with them. ⁴ 

Psalms 89:45

89:45 You have cut short his youth, ⁵ 

and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

Psalms 105:16

105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth;

he cut off all the food supply. ⁶ 

Psalms 129:4

129:4 The Lord is just;

he cut the ropes of the wicked.” ⁷ 

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¹ tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the Lord cut off”), not indicative (“The Lord will cut off”; see also Ps 109:15 and Mal 2:12). The psalmist appeals to God to destroy the wicked, rather than simply stating his confidence that he will. In this way he seeks to activate divine judgment by appealing to God’s just character. For an example of the power of such a curse, see Judg 9:7-57.

² tn Heb “a tongue speaking great [things].”

³ tn Heb “burned with fire.”

⁴ tn Heb “because of the rebuke of your face they perish.”

⁵ tn Heb “the days of his youth” (see as well Job 33:25).

⁶ tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).

⁷ tn The background of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Perhaps the “ropes” are those used to harness the ox for plowing (see Job 39:10). Verse 3 pictures the wicked plowing God’s people as if they were a field. But when God “cut the ropes” of their ox, as it were, they could no longer plow. The point of the metaphor seems to be that God took away the enemies’ ability to oppress his people. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 187.