52:5 Yet 1 God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. 2
He will scoop you up 3 and remove you from your home; 4
he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
85:8 I will listen to what God the Lord says. 5
For he will make 6 peace with his people, his faithful followers. 7
Yet they must not 8 return to their foolish ways.
1 tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.
2 tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”
3 tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.
4 tn Heb “from [your] tent.”
5 sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
6 tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).
7 tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
8 tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (’el), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.