20:8 They will fall down, 1
but we 2 will stand firm. 3
102:12 But you, O Lord, rule forever, 4
and your reputation endures. 5
119:3 who, moreover, do no wrong,
but follow in his footsteps. 6
135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe. 7
1 tn Or “stumble and fall down.”
2 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.
3 tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (’ud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.
4 tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.
5 tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”
6 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
7 tn Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”