7:5 may an enemy relentlessly chase 1 me 2 and catch me; 3
may he trample me to death 4
and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. 5 (Selah)
22:15 The roof of my mouth 6 is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums. 7
You 8 set me in the dust of death. 9
30:9 “What 10 profit is there in taking my life, 11
in my descending into the Pit? 12
Can the dust of the grave 13 praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty? 14
104:29 When you ignore them, they panic. 15
When you take away their life’s breath, they die
and return to dust.
1 tn The vocalization of the verb form seems to be a mixture of Qal and Piel (see GKC 168 §63.n). The translation assumes the Piel, which would emphasize the repetitive nature of the action. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a jussive. The psalmist is so certain that he is innocent of the sins mentioned in vv. 3-4, he pronounces an imprecation on himself for rhetorical effect.
2 tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.
3 tn Heb “and may he overtake.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. The object “me,” though unexpressed, is understood from the preceding statement.
4 tn Heb “and may he trample down to the earth my life.”
5 tn Heb “and my honor in the dust may he cause to dwell.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. Some emend כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy, “my honor”) to כְבֵדִי (khÿvediy, “my liver” as the seat of life), but the term כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy) is to be retained since it probably refers to the psalmist’s dignity or honor.
6 tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.
7 tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”
8 sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).
9 sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.
10 sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.
11 tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.
12 tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).
13 tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
14 tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”
sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!
15 tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”