Discovery BoxPsalms 58:11 
Context58:11 Then 1 observers 2 will say,
“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! 3
Yes indeed, there is a God who judges 4 in the earth!”
Psalms 96:13
Context96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly, 5
and the nations in accordance with his justice. 6
Psalms 98:9
Context98:9 before the Lord!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly, 7
and the nations in a just manner.
Psalms 141:6
Context141:6 They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges. 8
They 9 will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
1 tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.
2 tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.
3 tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”
4 tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.
5 tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”
6 tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”
7 tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).
8 tn Heb “they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. “Their judges” could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.
9 tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the verb “will listen,” and “my words” are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the phrase “are pleasant.” The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished.
