Discovery BoxPsalms 7:5 
Context7:5 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)
Psalms 8:2
Context8:2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, 6
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy. 7
Psalms 9:6
Context9:6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins; 8
you destroyed their cities; 9
all memory of the enemies has perished. 10
Psalms 31:8
Context31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand 11 in a wide open place.
Psalms 55:3
Context55:3 because of what the enemy says, 12
and because of how the wicked 13 pressure me, 14
for they hurl trouble 15 down upon me 16
and angrily attack me.
Psalms 64:1
ContextFor the music director; a psalm of David.
64:1 Listen to me, 18 O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect 19 my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. 20
Psalms 78:61
Context78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 21
he gave the symbol of his splendor 22 into the hand of the enemy. 23
Psalms 106:10
Context106:10 He delivered them from the power 24 of the one who hated them,
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 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.
7 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.
8 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
9 tn Heb “you uprooted cities.”
10 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”).
11 tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”
12 tn Heb “because of [the] voice of [the] enemy.”
13 tn The singular forms “enemy” and “wicked” are collective or representative, as the plural verb forms in the second half of the verse indicate.
14 tn Heb “from before the pressure of the wicked.” Some suggest the meaning “screech” (note the parallel “voice”; cf. NEB “shrill clamour”; NRSV “clamor”) for the rare noun עָקָה (’aqah, “pressure”).
15 tn Heb “wickedness,” but here the term refers to the destructive effects of their wicked acts.
16 tc The verb form in the MT appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוֹט (mot, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in the Kethib (consonantal text) of Ps 140:10, where the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read. Here in Ps 55:3 it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). It is odd for “rain down” to be used with an abstract object like “wickedness,” but in Job 20:23 God “rains down” anger (unless one emends the text there; see BHS).
17 sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.
18 tn Heb “my voice.”
19 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.
20 tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.
21 tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.
22 tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
23 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
24 tn Heb “hand.”
25 tn Or “redeemed.”
26 tn Heb “hand.”
