5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness 1
because of those who wait to ambush me, 2
remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! 3
10:8 He waits in ambush near the villages; 4
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim. 5
27:11 Teach me how you want me to live; 6
lead me along a level path 7 because of those who wait to ambush me! 8
35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me. 9
They tore at me without stopping to rest. 10
59:3 For look, they wait to ambush me; 11
powerful men stalk 12 me,
but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord. 13
92:11 I gloat in triumph over those who tried to ambush me; 14
I hear the defeated cries of the evil foes who attacked me. 15
1 tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.
2 tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.
3 tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).
4 tn Heb “he sits in the ambush of the villages.”
5 tn Heb “his eyes for an unfortunate person lie hidden.” The language may picture a lion (see v. 9) peering out from its hiding place in anticipation that an unsuspecting victim will soon come strolling along.
6 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The
7 sn The level path refers to God’s moral principles (see the parallel line), which, if followed, will keep the psalmist blameless before his accusers (see v. 12).
8 tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.
9 tn Heb “they gathered together against me, stricken [ones], and I did not know.” The Hebrew form נֵכִים (nekhim, “stricken ones” ?) is problematic. Some suggest an emendation to נָכְרִים[כְ] (kÿnokhÿrim, “foreigners”) or “like foreigners,” which would fit with what follows, “[like] foreigners that I do not recognize.” Perhaps the form should be read as a Qal active participle, נֹכִים (nokhim, “ones who strike”) from the verbal root נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike”). The Qal of this verb is unattested in biblical Hebrew, but the peal (basic) stem appears in Old Aramaic (J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 114; DNWSI 1:730.) In this case one might translate, “attackers gathered together against me though I was not aware of it” (cf. NASB “smiters”; NEB, NRSV “ruffians”; NIV “attackers”).
10 tn Heb “they tore and did not keep quiet.” By using the verb “tear,” the psalmist likens his enemies to a wild animal (see Hos 13:8). In v. 17 he compares them to hungry young lions.
11 tn Heb “my life.”
12 tn The Hebrew verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 56:8.
13 sn The point is that the psalmist’s enemies have no justifiable reason for attacking him. He has neither rebelled or sinned against the
14 tn Heb “my eye gazes upon those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2. The form שׁוּרָי (shuray) should be emended to שׁוֹרְרָי (shorÿray).
15 tn Heb “those who rise up against me, evil [foes], my ears hear.”