By David.
26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity, 2
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; 3
those who hate me without cause outnumber me. 4
89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,
or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. 5 (Selah)
139:4 Certainly 6 my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. 7
1 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.
2 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”
3 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”).
4 tn Heb “are many.”
5 tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
6 tn Or “for.”
7 tn Heb “look, O