2:3 They say, 1 “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! 2
Let’s free ourselves from 3 their ropes!”
22:8 They say, 4
“Commit yourself 5 to the Lord!
Let the Lord 6 rescue him!
Let the Lord 7 deliver him, for he delights in him.” 8
25:2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!
35:19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason 9 gloat 10 over me!
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes! 11
35:25 Do not let them say to themselves, 12 “Aha! We have what we wanted!” 13
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him!”
58:8 Let them be 14 like a snail that melts away as it moves along! 15
Let them be like 16 stillborn babies 17 that never see the sun!
95:1 Come! Let’s sing for joy to the Lord!
Let’s shout out praises to our protector who delivers us! 19
107:32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people!
Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside! 20
107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!
149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing!
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp!
1 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.
2 tn Heb “their (i.e., the
3 tn Heb “throw off from us.”
4 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.
5 tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the
6 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
7 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
8 tn That is, “for he [the
sn This statement does not necessarily reflect the enemies’ actual belief, but it does reflect the psalmist’s confession. The psalmist’s enemies sarcastically appeal to God to help him, because he claims to be an object of divine favor. However, they probably doubted the reality of his claim.
9 tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Ps 38:19).
10 tn Heb “rejoice.”
11 tn Heb “[do not let] those who hate me without cause pinch [i.e., wink] an eye.” The negative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (see the preceding line). In the Book of Proverbs “winking an eye” is associated with deceit and trickery (see 6:13; 10:10; 16:30).
12 tn Heb “in their heart[s].”
13 tn Heb “Aha! Our desire!” The “desire” of the psalmist’s enemies is to triumph over him.
14 tn There is no “to be” verb in the Hebrew text at this point, but a jussive tone can be assumed based on vv. 6-7.
15 tn Heb “like a melting snail [that] moves along.” A. Cohen (Psalms [SoBB], 184) explains that the text here alludes “to the popular belief that the slimy trail which the snail leaves in its track is the dissolution of its substance.”
16 tn The words “let them be like” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The jussive mood is implied from the preceding context, and “like” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).
17 tn This rare word also appears in Job 3:16 and Eccles 6:3.
18 sn Psalm 95. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God as the creator of the world and the nation’s protector, but he also reminds the people not to rebel against God.
19 tn Heb “to the rocky summit of our deliverance.”
20 tn Heb “in the seat of the elders.”