12:4 They say, 1 “We speak persuasively; 2
we know how to flatter and boast. 3
Who is our master?” 4
34:2 I will boast 5 in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice! 6
49:6 They trust 7 in their wealth
and boast 8 in their great riches.
94:4 They spew out threats 9 and speak defiantly;
all the evildoers boast. 10
105:3 Boast about his holy name!
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
1 tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.
2 tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.
3 tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.
4 sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.
5 tn Heb “my soul will boast”; or better, “let my soul boast.” Following the cohortative form in v. 1, it is likely that the prefixed verbal form here is jussive.
6 tn The two prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best taken as jussives, for the psalmist is calling his audience to worship (see v. 3).
7 tn Heb “the ones who trust.” The substantival participle stands in apposition to “those who deceive me” (v. 5).
8 tn The imperfect verbal form emphasizes their characteristic behavior.
9 tn Heb “they gush forth [words].”
10 tn The Hitpael of אָמַר (’amar) occurs only here (and perhaps in Isa 61:6).