8:2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, 1
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy. 2
62:4 They 3 spend all their time planning how to bring him 4 down. 5
They love to use deceit; 6
they pronounce blessings with their mouths,
but inwardly they utter curses. 7 (Selah)
63:11 But the king 8 will rejoice in God;
everyone who takes oaths in his name 9 will boast,
for the mouths of those who speak lies will be shut up. 10
1 tn Heb “you establish strength because of your foes.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation follows the reading of the LXX which has “praise” (αἶνος, ainos) in place of “strength” (עֹז, ’oz); cf. NIV, NCV, NLT.
2 tn Heb “to cause to cease an enemy and an avenger.” The singular forms are collective. The Hitpael participle of נָקַם (naqam) also occurs in Ps 44:16.
3 tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.
4 tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.
5 tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”
6 tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”
7 sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.
8 sn The psalmist probably refers to himself in the third person here.
9 tn Heb “who swears [an oath] by him.”
10 tn The Niphal of this verb occurs only here and in Gen 8:2, where it is used of God “stopping” or “damming up” the great deep as he brought the flood to an end.