18:9 He made the sky sink 1 as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
37:31 The law of their God controls their thinking; 2
their 3 feet do not slip.
66:9 He preserves our lives 4
and does not allow our feet to slip.
105:18 The shackles hurt his feet; 5
his neck was placed in an iron collar, 6
115:7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats. 7
116:8 Yes, 8 Lord, 9 you rescued my life from death,
and kept my feet from stumbling.
1 tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “[cause to] bend, bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the
2 tn Heb “the law of his God [is] in his heart.” The “heart” is here the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
3 tn Heb “his.” The pronoun has been translated as plural to agree with the representative or typical “godly” in v. 30.
4 tn Heb “the one who places our soul in life.”
5 tn Heb “they afflicted his feet with shackles.”
6 tn Heb “his neck came [into] iron.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with the suffix could mean simply “he” or “his life.” But the nuance “neck” makes good sense here (note the reference to his “feet” in the preceding line). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 38.
7 tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).
8 tn Or “for.”
9 tn “