Psalms 18:17

18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy,

from those who hate me,

for they were too strong for me.

Psalms 38:19

38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;

those who hate me without cause outnumber me.

Psalms 41:7

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another;

they plan ways to harm me.

Psalms 44:10

44:10 You made us retreat from the enemy.

Those who hate us take whatever they want from us.

Psalms 101:3

101:3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.

I hate doing evil;

I will have no part of it.

Psalms 118:7

118:7 The Lord is on my side 10  as my helper. 11 

I look in triumph on those who hate me.


tn The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.

tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).

tn Heb “are many.”

tn Heb “together against me they whisper, all those who hate me.” The Hitpael of לָחַשׁ (lakhash) refers here to whispering to one another (see 2 Sam 12:19).

tn Heb “you caused us to turn backward.”

tn Heb “plunder for themselves.” The prepositional phrase לָמוֹ (lamo, “for themselves”) here has the nuance “at their will” or “as they please” (see Ps 80:6).

tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”

tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).

tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”

10 tn Heb “for me.”

11 tn Heb “among my helpers.” The preposition may indicate identity here, while the plural may be one of majesty or respect.