22:6 But I 1 am a worm, 2 not a man; 3
people insult me and despise me. 4
69:33 For the Lord listens to the needy;
he does not despise his captive people. 5
119:118 You despise 6 all who stray from your statutes,
for they are deceptive and unreliable. 7
119:158 I take note of the treacherous and despise them,
because they do not keep your instructions. 8
139:21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you? 9
1 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.
2 tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).
3 tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.
4 tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”
5 tn Heb “his prisoners he does not despise.”
6 tn The Hebrew verb סָלָה (salah, “to disdain”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:15. Cognate usage in Aramaic and Akkadian, as well as Lam 1:15, suggest it may have a concrete nuance of “to throw away.”
7 tn Heb “for their deceit [is] falsehood.”
8 tn Heb “your word.”
9 tc Heb “who raise themselves up against you.” The form וּבִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvitqomÿmekha) should be emended to וּבְמִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvÿmitqomÿmekha), a Hitpolel participle (the prefixed mem [מ] of the participle is accidentally omitted in the MT, though a few medieval Hebrew