9:6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins; 1
you destroyed their cities; 2
all memory of the enemies has perished. 3
68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; 4
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. 5
But sinful rebels live in the desert. 6
143:3 Certainly 7 my enemies 8 chase me.
They smash me into the ground. 9
They force me to live 10 in dark regions, 11
like those who have been dead for ages.
149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies 12 have been sentenced. 13
All his loyal followers will be vindicated. 14
Praise the Lord!
1 tn Heb “the enemy – they have come to an end [in] ruins permanently.” The singular form אוֹיֵב (’oyev, “enemy”) is collective. It is placed at the beginning of the verse to heighten the contrast with יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the
2 tn Heb “you uprooted cities.”
3 tn Heb “it has perished, their remembrance, they.” The independent pronoun at the end of the line is in apposition to the preceding pronominal suffix and lends emphasis (see IBHS 299 §16.3.4). The referent of the masculine pronoun is the nations/enemies (cf. v. 5), not the cities (the Hebrew noun עָרִים [’arim, “cities”] is grammatically feminine). This has been specified in the present translation for clarity; many modern translations retain the pronoun “them,” resulting in ambiguity (cf. NRSV “their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished”).
4 tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
5 tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
6 tn Or “in a parched [land].”
sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.
7 tn Or “for.”
8 tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).
9 tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”
10 tn Or “sit.”
11 sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).
12 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”
14 tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).