Mazmur 14:4

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹  do not understand – ² 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

Mazmur 31:10

31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;

my years draw to a close as I groan. ³ 

My strength fails me because of ⁴  my sin,

and my bones become brittle. ⁵ 

Mazmur 74:8

74:8 They say to themselves, ⁶ 

“We will oppress all of them.” ⁷ 

They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land. ⁸ 

[14:4]  ¹ tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ² tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).

[31:10]  ³ tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”

[31:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “stumbles in.”

[31:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “grow weak.”

[74:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “in their heart.”

[74:8]  ⁷ tc Heb “[?] altogether.” The Hebrew form נִינָם (ninam) is problematic. It could be understood as the noun נִין (nin, “offspring”) but the statement “their offspring altogether” would make no sense here. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:159) emends יָחַד (yakhad, “altogether”) to יָחִיד (yakhid, “alone”) and translate “let their offspring be solitary” (i.e., exiled). Another option is to understand the form as a Qal imperfect first common plural from יָנָה (yanah, “to oppress”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix, “we will oppress them.” However, this verb, when used in the finite form, always appears in the Hiphil. Therefore, it is preferable to emend the form to the Hiphil נוֹנֵם (nonem, “we will oppress them”).

[74:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”