37:12 Evil men plot against the godly 1
and viciously attack them. 2
37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust 3 at them,
for he knows that their day is coming. 4
37:14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down 5 the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly. 6
37:32 Evil men set an ambush for the godly
and try to kill them. 7
37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. 8
1 tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.
2 tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.
3 tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
4 tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.
5 tn Heb “to cause to fall.”
6 tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.
7 tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.
8 tn Heb “the