Psalms 5:10

Condemn them, ¹  O God! May their own schemes be their downfall! ²  Drive them away ³  because of their many acts of insurrection, ⁴  for they have rebelled against you.

De 2:30; 1Sa 25:29,39; 2Sa 15:31; 2Sa 17:14,23; 2Ch 25:16; Es 7:10; Job 5:12-14; Ps 7:9-15; Ps 9:15,16; Ps 10:15; Ps 17:13; Ps 21:8-10; Ps 28:3,4; Ps 31:18; Ps 35:1-8,26; Ps 55:15; Ps 59:12,13; Ps 64:6-8; Ps 66:7; Ps 68:1,2; Ps 69:22-25; Ps 71:13; Ps 79:12; Ps 83:9-18; Ps 109:6-20; Ps 137:7-9; Ps 140:9,10; Ps 144:6,7; Isa 1:2,20; Isa 63:10; La 1:5; Da 9:5,9; Ho 9:7; Ro 3:19,20; 1Co 3:19

¹ tn Heb “declare/regard them as guilty.” Declaring the psalmist’s adversaries guilty is here metonymic for judging them or paying them back for their wrongdoing.

² tn Heb “may they fall from their plans.” The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation. The psalmist calls judgment down on the evildoers. Their plans will be their downfall in that God will judge them for their evil schemes.

³ tn Or “banish them.”

⁴ tn The Hebrew noun used here, פֶּשַׁע (pesha’), refers to rebellious actions. The psalmist pictures his enemies as rebels against God (see the next line).