41:5 My enemies ask this cruel question about me, 1
‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’ 2
94:20 Cruel rulers 3 are not your allies,
those who make oppressive laws. 4
109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;
they lie to me. 5
1 tn Heb “my enemies speak evil concerning me.”
2 tn Heb “and his name perish.”
3 tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.
4 tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.
5 tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”