Discovery BoxPsalms 9:5 
Context9:5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry; 1
you destroyed the wicked; 2
you permanently wiped out all memory of them. 3
Psalms 10:17
Context10:17 Lord, you have heard 4 the request 5 of the oppressed;
you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. 6
Psalms 14:3
Contextthey are all morally corrupt. 8
None of them does what is right, 9
not even one!
Psalms 25:14
Context25:14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, 10
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. 11
Psalms 35:7
Context35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me. 12
Psalms 36:8
Context36:8 They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
Psalms 37:33
Context37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. 13
Psalms 37:36
Context37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared! 14
I looked for them, but they could not be found.
Psalms 41:10
Context41:10 As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up,
so I can pay them back!” 15
Psalms 45:16
Context45:16 Your 16 sons will carry 17 on the dynasty of your ancestors; 18
you will make them princes throughout the land.
Psalms 53:3
Contextthey are all morally corrupt. 20
None of them does what is right, 21
not even one!
Psalms 54:5
Context54:5 May those who wait to ambush me 22 be repaid for their evil! 23
As a demonstration of your faithfulness, 24 destroy them!
Psalms 56:7
Context56:7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape! 25
In your anger 26 bring down the nations, 27 O God!
Psalms 68:9
Context68:9 O God, you cause abundant showers to fall 28 on your chosen people. 29
When they 30 are tired, you sustain them, 31
Psalms 69:22
Context69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!
May it be a snare for that group of friends! 32
Psalms 69:34
Context69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them!
Psalms 73:20
Context73:20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. 33
O Lord, when you awake 34 you will despise them. 35
Psalms 78:13-15
Context78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
78:14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. 36
Psalms 78:22
Context78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 37
Psalms 78:27
Context78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. 38
Psalms 78:49
Context78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 39
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 40
Psalms 78:52
Context78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
Psalms 78:54
Context78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land 41 which his right hand 42 acquired.
Psalms 79:3
Context79:3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. 43
Psalms 83:9
Context83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian 44 –
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River! 45
Psalms 90:17
Context90:17 May our sovereign God extend his favor to us! 46
Make our endeavors successful!
Yes, make them successful! 47
Psalms 96:12
Context96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
Psalms 104:8
Context104:8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down –
to the place you appointed for them. 48
Psalms 104:28
Context104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food. 49
Psalms 105:44
Context105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, 50
Psalms 106:23
Context106:23 He threatened 51 to destroy them,
but 52 Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him 53
and turned back his destructive anger. 54
Psalms 106:43
Context106:43 Many times he delivered 55 them,
but they had a rebellious attitude, 56
and degraded themselves 57 by their sin.
Psalms 107:7
Context107:7 He led them on a level road, 58
that they might find a city in which to live.
Psalms 107:30
Context107:30 The sailors 59 rejoiced because the waves 60 grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor 61 they desired.
Psalms 107:38
Context107:38 He blessed 62 them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. 63
Psalms 107:40
Context107:40 He would pour 64 contempt upon princes,
and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
Psalms 109:15
Context109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, 65
and cut off the memory of his children 66 from the earth!
Psalms 111:6
Context111:6 He announced that he would do mighty deeds for his people,
giving them a land that belonged to other nations. 67
Psalms 118:11
Context118:11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
Psalms 138:5
Context138:5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds, 68
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent. 69
Psalms 140:9
Context140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –
may the harm done by 70 their lips overwhelm them!
Psalms 145:19
Context145:19 He satisfies the desire 71 of his loyal followers; 72
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
Psalms 146:6
Context146:6 the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who remains forever faithful, 73
Psalms 148:5
Context148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
1 tn The verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke” and in this context taken to refer to the
2 tn The singular form is collective (note “nations” and “their name”). In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). In this context the hostile nations who threaten Israel/Judah are in view.
3 tn Heb “their name you wiped out forever and ever.” The three perfect verbal forms in v. 5 probably refer to a recent victory (definite past or present perfect use), although they might express what is typical (characteristic use).
4 sn You have heard. The psalmist is confident that God has responded positively to his earlier petitions for divine intervention. The psalmist apparently prayed the words of vv. 16-18 after the reception of an oracle of deliverance (given in response to the confident petition of vv. 12-15) or after the Lord actually delivered him from his enemies.
5 tn Heb “desire.”
6 tn Heb “you make firm their heart, you cause your ear to listen.”
7 tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”
8 tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”
9 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
10 tn Heb “the advice of the
11 tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”
12 tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).
13 tn Heb “the
14 tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).
15 tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) here indicates purpose or result (“Then I will repay them”) after the preceding imperatives.
16 tn The pronoun is second masculine singular, indicating the king is being addressed from this point to the end of the psalm.
17 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive and the statement interpreted as a prayer, “May your sons carry on the dynasty of your ancestors!” The next line could then be taken as a relative clause, “[your sons] whom you will make princes throughout the land.”
18 tn Heb “in place of your fathers will be your sons.”
19 tn Heb “all of it turns away.” Ps 14:1 has הָכֹּל (hakkol) instead of כֻּלּוֹ, and סָר (sar, “turn aside”) instead of סָג (sag, “turn away”).
20 tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”
21 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
22 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
23 tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.
24 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
25 tc Heb “because of wickedness, deliverance to them.” As it stands, the MT makes no sense. The negative particle אַיִן (’ayin, “there is not,” which is due to dittography of the immediately preceding אָוֶן, ’aven, “wickedness”), should probably be added before “deliverance” (see BHS, note a). The presence of an imperative in the next line (note “bring down”) suggests that this line should be translated as a prayer as well, “may there not be deliverance to them.”
26 tn Heb “in anger.” The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
27 tn Or perhaps “people” in a general sense.
28 tn The verb נוּף (nuf, “cause rain to fall”) is a homonym of the more common נוּף (“brandish”).
29 tn Heb “[on] your inheritance.” This refers to Israel as God’s specially chosen people (see Pss 28:9; 33:12; 74:2; 78:62, 71; 79:1; 94:5, 14; 106:40). Some take “your inheritance” with what follows, but the vav (ו) prefixed to the following word (note וְנִלְאָה, vÿnil’ah) makes this syntactically unlikely.
30 tn Heb “it [is],” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
31 tn Heb “it,” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
32 tc Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the MT is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (ulÿshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. NIV).
33 tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.
34 sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.
35 tn Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.
36 tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”
37 tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”
38 tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”
39 tn Heb “he sent against them the rage of his anger.” The phrase “rage of his anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
40 tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”
41 tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”
42 tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).
43 tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”
44 tn Heb “do to them like Midian.”
45 sn The psalmist alludes here to Gideon’s victory over the Midianites (see Judg 7-8) and to Barak’s victory over Jabin’s army, which was led by his general Sisera (Judg 4-5).
46 tn Heb “and may the delight of the Master, our God, be on us.” The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am, “delight”) is used in Ps 27:4 of the
47 tn Heb “and the work of our hands establish over us, and the work of our hands, establish it.”
48 tn Heb “from your shout they fled, from the sound of your thunder they hurried off.”
sn Verses 7-8 poetically depict Gen 1:9-10.
49 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”
50 tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”
51 tn Heb “and he said.”
52 tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”
53 tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”
54 tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”
sn Verses 19-23 describe the events of Exod 32:1-35.
55 tn The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“he would deliver”).
56 tn Heb “but they rebelled in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“they would have a rebellious attitude”).
57 tn Heb “they sank down.” The Hebrew verb מָכַךְ (makhakh, “to lower; to sink”) occurs only here in the Qal.
58 sn A level road. See Jer 31:9.
59 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
60 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.
62 tn “Bless” here carries the nuance “endue with sexual potency, make fertile.” See Gen 1:28, where the statement “he blessed them” directly precedes the command “be fruitful and populate the earth” (see also 1:22). The verb “bless” carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).
63 tn The verbal form in this line appears to be an imperfect, which may be taken as customary (drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame) or as generalizing (in which case one should use the English present tense, understanding a move from narrative to present reality).
64 tn The active participle is understood as past durative here, drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame. However, it could be taken as generalizing (in which case one should translate using the English present tense), in which case the psalmist moves from narrative to present reality. Perhaps the participial form appears because the statement is lifted from Job 12:21.
65 tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the
66 tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.
67 tn Heb “the strength of his deeds he proclaimed to his people, to give to them an inheritance of nations.”
68 tn Heb “ways.”
69 tn Heb “great.”
70 tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.
71 tn In this context “desire” refers to the followers’ desire to be delivered from wicked enemies.
72 tn Heb “the desire of those who fear him, he does.”
73 tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”
