Mazmur 50:1-23
KonteksA psalm by Asaph.
50:1 El, God, the Lord 2 speaks,
and summons the earth to come from the east and west. 3
50:2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places, 4
God comes in splendor. 5
50:3 Our God approaches and is not silent; 6
consuming fire goes ahead of him
and all around him a storm rages. 7
50:4 He summons the heavens above,
as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. 8
“Assemble my covenant people before me, 10
those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 11
50:6 The heavens declare his fairness, 12
for God is judge. 13 (Selah)
“Listen my people! I am speaking!
Listen Israel! I am accusing you! 15
I am God, your God!
50:8 I am not condemning 16 you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. 17
50:9 I do not need to take 18 a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
50:10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills. 19
50:11 I keep track of 20 every bird in the hills,
and the insects 21 of the field are mine.
50:12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
50:13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats? 22
50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!
Repay your vows to the sovereign One! 23
50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! 24
I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” 25
50:16 God says this to the evildoer: 26
“How can you declare my commands,
and talk about my covenant? 27
50:17 For you hate instruction
and reject my words. 28
50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; 29
you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. 30
50:19 You do damage with words, 31
and use your tongue to deceive. 32
50:20 You plot against your brother; 33
you slander your own brother. 34
50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, 35
so you thought I was exactly like you. 36
But now I will condemn 37 you
and state my case against you! 38
50:22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! 39
Otherwise I will rip you to shreds 40
and no one will be able to rescue you.
50:23 Whoever presents a thank-offering honors me. 41
To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.” 42
Mazmur 73:1--83:18
KonteksBook 3
(Psalms 73-89)
A psalm by Asaph.
73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, 44
and to those whose motives are pure! 45
73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my feet almost slid out from under me. 46
73:3 For I envied those who are proud,
as I observed 47 the prosperity 48 of the wicked.
73:4 For they suffer no pain; 49
their bodies 50 are strong and well-fed. 51
73:5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;
they do not suffer as other men do. 52
73:6 Arrogance is their necklace, 53
and violence their clothing. 54
73:7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong; 55
their thoughts are sinful. 56
73:8 They mock 57 and say evil things; 58
they proudly threaten violence. 59
73:9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,
and lay claim to the earth. 60
73:10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat,
and even suck up the water of the sea. 61
73:11 They say, “How does God know what we do?
Is the sovereign one aware of what goes on?” 62
73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, 63
those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. 64
73:13 I concluded, 65 “Surely in vain I have kept my motives 66 pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle. 67
73:14 I suffer all day long,
and am punished every morning.”
73:15 If I had publicized these thoughts, 68
I would have betrayed your loyal followers. 69
73:16 When I tried to make sense of this,
it was troubling to me. 70
73:17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, 71
and understood the destiny of the wicked. 72
73:18 Surely 73 you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down 74 to ruin.
73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!
Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! 75
73:20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. 76
O Lord, when you awake 77 you will despise them. 78
73:21 Yes, 79 my spirit was bitter, 80
and my insides felt sharp pain. 81
73:22 I was ignorant 82 and lacked insight; 83
I was as senseless as an animal before you. 84
73:23 But I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
73:24 You guide 85 me by your wise advice,
and then you will lead me to a position of honor. 86
73:25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
I desire no one but you on earth. 87
73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, 88
but God always 89 protects my heart and gives me stability. 90
73:27 Yes, 91 look! Those far from you 92 die;
you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you. 93
73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. 94
I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,
as 95 I declare all the things you have done.
A well-written song 97 by Asaph.
74:1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? 98
Why does your anger burn 99 against the sheep of your pasture?
74:2 Remember your people 100 whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued 101 so they could be your very own nation, 102
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!
74:3 Hurry and look 103 at the permanent ruins,
and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! 104
74:4 Your enemies roar 105 in the middle of your sanctuary; 106
they set up their battle flags. 107
74:5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest. 108
74:6 And now 109 they are tearing down 110 all its engravings 111
with axes 112 and crowbars. 113
74:7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground. 114
74:8 They say to themselves, 115
“We will oppress all of them.” 116
They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land. 117
74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; 118
there are no longer any prophets 119
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. 120
74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
74:11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him! 121
74:12 But God has been my 122 king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth. 123
74:13 You destroyed 124 the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster 125 in the water.
74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; 126
you fed 127 him to the people who live along the coast. 128
74:15 You broke open the spring and the stream; 129
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers. 130
74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; 131
you put the moon 132 and sun in place. 133
74:17 You set up all the boundaries 134 of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter. 135
74:18 Remember how 136 the enemy hurls insults, O Lord, 137
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name!
74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove 138 over to a wild animal!
Do not continue to disregard 139 the lives of your oppressed people!
74:20 Remember your covenant promises, 140
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules. 141
74:21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame!
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! 142
74:22 Rise up, O God! Defend your honor! 143
Remember how fools insult you all day long! 144
74:23 Do not disregard 145 what your enemies say, 146
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you. 147
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 149 a psalm of Asaph; a song.
75:1 We give thanks to you, O God! We give thanks!
You reveal your presence; 150
people tell about your amazing deeds.
“At the appointed times, 152
I judge 153 fairly.
75:3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear, 154
I make its pillars secure.” 155 (Selah)
75:4 156 I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory! 157
75:5 Do not be so certain you have won! 158
Do not speak with your head held so high! 159
75:6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness. 160
75:7 For God is the judge! 161
He brings one down and exalts another. 162
75:8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup full
of foaming wine mixed with spices, 163
and pours it out. 164
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.” 165
75:9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done; 166
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob!
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.” 168
For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.
76:1 God has revealed himself in Judah; 170
in Israel his reputation 171 is great.
he dwells in Zion. 173
76:3 There he shattered the arrows, 174
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war. 175 (Selah)
76:4 You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,
as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey. 176
76:5 The bravehearted 177 were plundered; 178
they “fell asleep.” 179
All the warriors were helpless. 180
76:6 At the sound of your battle cry, 181 O God of Jacob,
both rider 182 and horse “fell asleep.” 183
76:7 You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger? 184
76:8 From heaven you announced what their punishment would be. 185
The earth 186 was afraid and silent
76:9 when God arose to execute judgment,
and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
76:10 Certainly 187 your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise; 188
you reveal your anger in full measure. 189
76:11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them!
Let all those who surround him 190 bring tribute to the awesome one!
the kings of the earth regard him as awesome. 192
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77:1 I will cry out to God 194 and call for help!
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention 195 to me.
77:2 In my time of trouble I sought 196 the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. 197
I 198 refused to be comforted.
77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” 199 (Selah)
77:4 You held my eyelids open; 200
I was troubled and could not speak. 201
77:5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times. 202
77:6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening. 203
77:7 I asked, 204 “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
77:8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise 205 failed forever?
77:9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?”
77:10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the sovereign One 206 might become inactive. 207
77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! 208
77:12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds!”
77:13 209 O God, your deeds are extraordinary! 210
What god can compare to our great God? 211
77:14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
77:15 You delivered 212 your people by your strength 213 –
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
77:16 The waters 214 saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled. 215
Yes, the depths of the sea 216 shook with fear. 217
77:17 The clouds poured down rain; 218
the skies thundered. 219
Yes, your arrows 220 flashed about.
77:18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook. 221
77:19 You walked through the sea; 222
you passed through the surging waters, 223
but left no footprints. 224
77:20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
A well-written song 226 by Asaph.
78:1 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction!
Listen to the words I speak! 227
78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past. 228
78:3 What we have heard and learned 229 –
that which our ancestors 230 have told us –
78:4 we will not hide from their 231 descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, 232
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
78:5 He established a rule 233 in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants, 234
78:6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,
might know about them.
They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. 235
78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey 236 his commands.
78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God. 237
78:9 The Ephraimites 238 were armed with bows, 239
but they retreated in the day of battle. 240
78:10 They did not keep their covenant with God, 241
and they refused to obey 242 his law.
78:11 They forgot what he had done, 243
the amazing things he had shown them.
78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 244
78:13 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. 245
78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the sovereign One 246 in the desert.
78:18 They willfully challenged God 247
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19 They insulted God, saying, 248
“Is God really able to give us food 249 in the wilderness?
78:20 Yes, 250 he struck a rock and water flowed out,
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
78:21 When 251 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 252 against Israel,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 253
78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven. 254
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 255
He sent them more than enough to eat. 256
78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. 257
78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
78:29 They ate until they were stuffed; 258
he gave them what they desired.
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 259
their food was still in their mouths,
78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
78:32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things. 260
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied 261
and filled with terror. 262
78:34 When he struck them down, 263 they sought his favor; 264
they turned back and longed for God.
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, 265
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 266
78:36 But they deceived him with their words, 267
and lied to him. 268
78:37 They were not really committed to him, 269
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
78:38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury. 270
78:39 He remembered 271 that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 272
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 273 in the desert!
78:41 They again challenged God, 274
and offended 275 the Holy One of Israel. 276
78:42 They did not remember what he had done, 277
how he delivered them from the enemy, 278
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds 279 in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment 280 in the region of Zoan.
78:44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.
78:45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them, 281
as well as frogs that overran their land. 282
78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle, 283
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 284
78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, 285
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster. 286
78:50 He sent his anger in full force; 287
he did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction. 288
78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power 289 in the tents of Ham.
78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
78:53 He guided them safely along,
while the sea covered their enemies.
78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land 290 which his right hand 291 acquired.
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments 292
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 293
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 294 the sovereign God, 295
and did not obey 296 his commands. 297
78:57 They were unfaithful 298 and acted as treacherously as 299 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 300
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, 301
and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
78:60 He abandoned 302 the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 303
he gave the symbol of his splendor 304 into the hand of the enemy. 305
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation. 306
78:63 Fire consumed their 307 young men,
and their 308 virgins remained unmarried. 309
78:64 Their 310 priests fell by the sword,
but their 311 widows did not weep. 312
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 313
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 314
78:66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults. 315
78:67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; 316
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 317
78:70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, 318
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation. 319
78:72 David 320 cared for them with pure motives; 321
he led them with skill. 322
A psalm of Asaph.
79:1 O God, foreigners 324 have invaded your chosen land; 325
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem 326 into a heap of ruins.
79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky; 327
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
79:3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. 328
79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. 329
79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? 330
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage 331 burn like fire?
79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, 332
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you! 333
79:7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! 334
Quickly send your compassion our way, 335
for we are in serious trouble! 336
79:9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation, 337 rescue us!
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation! 338
79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations! 339
79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! 340
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! 341
79:12 Pay back our neighbors in full! 342
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord! 343
79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you. 344
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts. 345
For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 347 a psalm of Asaph.
80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!
You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, 348 reveal your splendor! 349
80:2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal 350 your power!
Come and deliver us! 351
80:3 O God, restore us!
Smile on us! 352 Then we will be delivered! 353
80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior! 354
How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? 355
80:5 You have given them tears as food; 356
you have made them drink tears by the measure. 357
80:6 You have made our neighbors dislike us, 358
and our enemies insult us.
80:7 O God, invincible warrior, 359 restore us!
Smile on us! 360 Then we will be delivered! 361
80:8 You uprooted a vine 362 from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
80:9 You cleared the ground for it; 363
it took root, 364
and filled the land.
80:10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars 365 by its branches.
80:11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, 366
and its shoots the Euphrates River. 367
80:12 Why did you break down its walls, 368
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? 369
80:13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it; 370
the insects 371 of the field feed on it.
80:14 O God, invincible warrior, 372 come back!
Look down from heaven and take notice!
Take care of this vine,
80:15 the root 373 your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow! 374
80:16 It is burned 375 and cut down.
They die because you are displeased with them. 376
80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, 377
to the one whom you raised up for yourself! 378
80:18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you! 379
80:19 O Lord God, invincible warrior, 380 restore us!
Smile on us! 381 Then we will be delivered! 382
For the music director; according to the gittith style; 384 by Asaph.
81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!
Shout out to the God of Jacob!
81:2 Sing 385 a song and play the tambourine,
the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!
81:3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon, 386
and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins. 387
81:4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel; 388
it is an ordinance given by the God of Jacob.
81:5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,
when he attacked the land of Egypt. 389
I heard a voice I did not recognize. 390
81:6 It said: 391 “I removed the burden from his shoulder;
his hands were released from holding the basket. 392
81:7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.
I answered you from a dark thundercloud. 393
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 394 (Selah)
81:8 I said, 395 ‘Listen, my people!
I will warn 396 you!
O Israel, if only you would obey me! 397
81:9 There must be 398 no other 399 god among you.
You must not worship a foreign god.
81:10 I am the Lord, your God,
the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!’
81:11 But my people did not obey me; 400
Israel did not submit to me. 401
81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; 402
they did what seemed right to them. 403
81:13 If only my people would obey me! 404
If only Israel would keep my commands! 405
81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and attack 406 their adversaries.”
81:15 (May those who hate the Lord 407 cower in fear 408 before him!
May they be permanently humiliated!) 409
81:16 “I would feed Israel the best wheat, 410
and would satisfy your appetite 411 with honey from the rocky cliffs.” 412
A psalm of Asaph.
82:1 God stands in 414 the assembly of El; 415
in the midst of the gods 416 he renders judgment. 417
82:2 He says, 418 “How long will you make unjust legal decisions
and show favoritism to the wicked? 419 (Selah)
82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! 420
Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!
82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!
Deliver them from the power 421 of the wicked!
82:5 They 422 neither know nor understand.
They stumble 423 around in the dark,
while all the foundations of the earth crumble. 424
82:6 I thought, 425 ‘You are gods;
all of you are sons of the Most High.’ 426
82:7 Yet you will die like mortals; 427
you will fall like all the other rulers.” 428
82:8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth!
For you own 429 all the nations.
A song, a psalm of Asaph.
83:1 O God, do not be silent!
Do not ignore us! 431 Do not be inactive, O God!
83:2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;
those who hate you are hostile. 432
83:3 They carefully plot 433 against your people,
and make plans to harm 434 the ones you cherish. 435
83:4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! 436
Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
83:5 Yes, 437 they devise a unified strategy; 438
they form an alliance 439 against you.
83:6 It includes 440 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites, 441
83:7 Gebal, 442 Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. 443
83:8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot. 444 (Selah)
83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian 445 –
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River! 446
83:10 They were destroyed at Endor; 447
their corpses were like manure 448 on the ground.
83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, 449
and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna, 450
83:12 who said, 451 “Let’s take over 452 the pastures of God!”
83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, 453
like dead weeds blown away by 454 the wind!
83:14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,
or the flames that consume the mountainsides, 455
83:15 chase them with your gale winds,
and terrify 456 them with your windstorm.
83:16 Cover 457 their faces with shame,
so they might seek 458 you, 459 O Lord.
83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! 460
May they die in shame! 461
83:18 Then they will know 462 that you alone are the Lord, 463
the sovereign king 464 over all the earth.
[50:1] 1 sn Psalm 50. This psalm takes the form of a covenant lawsuit in which the Lord comes to confront his people in a formal manner (as in Isa 1:2-20). The Lord emphasizes that he places priority on obedience and genuine worship, not empty ritual.
[50:1] 2 sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: El (אֵל [’el], or “God”), Elohim (אֱלֹהִים [’elohim], or “God”), and Yahweh (יְהוָה [yÿhvah] or “the
[50:1] 3 tn Heb “and calls [the] earth from the sunrise to its going.”
[50:2] 4 tn Heb “the perfection of beauty.”
[50:2] 5 tn Or “shines forth.”
[50:2] sn Comes in splendor. The psalmist may allude ironically to Deut 33:2, where God “shines forth” from Sinai and comes to superintend Moses’ blessing of the tribes.
[50:3] 6 tn According to GKC 322 §109.e, the jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al) is used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.”
[50:3] 7 tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”
[50:4] 8 tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”
[50:4] sn The personified heavens and earth (see v. 1 as well) are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people (see Isa 1:2). Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
[50:5] 9 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.
[50:5] 10 tn Or “Gather to me my covenant people.” The Hebrew term חָסִיד (khasid, “covenant people”) elsewhere in the psalms is used in a positive sense of God’s loyal followers (see the note at Ps 4:3), but here, as the following line makes clear, the term has a neutral sense and simply refers to those who have outwardly sworn allegiance to God, not necessarily to those whose loyalty is genuine.
[50:5] 11 tn Heb “the cutters of my covenant according to sacrifice.” A sacrifice accompanied the covenant-making ceremony and formally ratified the agreement (see Exod 24:3-8).
[50:6] 13 tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).
[50:7] 14 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.
[50:7] 15 tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[50:8] 17 tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”
[50:9] 18 tn Or “I will not take.”
[50:10] 19 tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term בְּהֵמוֹה (bÿhemot, “animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).
[50:11] 21 tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word, which occurs only here and in Ps 80:13, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.
[50:13] 22 tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”
[50:14] 23 tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
[50:15] 24 tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”
[50:15] 25 sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.
[50:16] 26 tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the
[50:16] 27 tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The
[50:17] 28 tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”
[50:18] 29 tn Heb “you run with him.”
[50:18] 30 tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”
[50:19] 31 tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”
[50:19] 32 tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”
[50:20] 33 tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).
[50:20] 34 tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”
[50:21] 35 tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.
[50:21] sn The Lord was silent in the sense that he delayed punishment. Of course, God’s patience toward sinners eventually runs out. The divine “silence” is only temporary (see v. 3, where the psalmist, having described God’s arrival, observes that “he is not silent”).
[50:21] 36 tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).
[50:21] 37 tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).
[50:21] 38 tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the
[50:22] 39 tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.
[50:22] 40 sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).
[50:23] 41 sn The reference to a thank-offering recalls the earlier statement made in v. 14. Gratitude characterizes genuine worship.
[50:23] 42 tn Heb “and [to one who] sets a way I will show the deliverance of God.” Elsewhere the phrase “set a way” simply means “to travel” (see Gen 30:36; cf. NRSV). The present translation assumes an emendation of וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ (vÿsam derekh) to וְשֹׁמֵר דְּרָכַּי (vÿshomer dÿrakhay, “and [the one who] keeps my ways” [i.e., commands, see Pss 18:21; 37:34). Another option is to read וְשֹׁמֵר דַּרְכּוֹ (vÿshomer darko, “and [the one who] guards his way,” i.e., “the one who is careful to follow a godly lifestyle”; see Ps 39:1).
[73:1] 43 sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.
[73:1] 44 tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).
[73:1] 45 tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”
[73:2] 46 tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”
[73:2] sn My feet almost slid out from under me. The language is metaphorical. As the following context makes clear, the psalmist almost “slipped” in a spiritual sense. As he began to question God’s justice, the psalmist came close to abandoning his faith.
[73:3] 47 tn The imperfect verbal form here depicts the action as continuing in a past time frame.
[73:3] 48 tn Heb “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).
[73:4] 49 tn In Isa 58:6, the only other occurrence of this word in the OT, the term refers to “bonds” or “ropes.” In Ps 73:4 it is used metaphorically of pain and suffering that restricts one’s enjoyment of life.
[73:4] 51 tc Or “fat.” The MT of v. 4 reads as follows: “for there are no pains at their death, and fat [is] their body.” Since a reference to the death of the wicked seems incongruous in the immediate context (note v. 5) and premature in the argument of the psalm (see vv. 18-20, 27), some prefer to emend the text by redividing it. The term לְמוֹתָם (lÿmotam,“at their death”) is changed to לָמוֹ תָּם (lamo tam, “[there are no pains] to them, strong [and fat are their bodies]”). The term תָּם (tam, “complete; sound”) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9. This emendation is the basis for the present translation. However, in defense of the MT (the traditional Hebrew text), one may point to an Aramaic inscription from Nerab which views a painful death as a curse and a nonpainful death in one’s old age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.
[73:5] 52 tn Heb “in the trouble of man they are not, and with mankind they are not afflicted.”
[73:6] 53 sn Arrogance is their necklace. The metaphor suggests that their arrogance is something the wicked “wear” proudly. It draws attention to them, just as a beautiful necklace does to its owner.
[73:6] 54 tn Heb “a garment of violence covers them.” The metaphor suggests that violence is habitual for the wicked. They “wear” it like clothing; when one looks at them, violence is what one sees.
[73:7] 55 tc The MT reads “it goes out from fatness their eye,” which might be paraphrased, “their eye protrudes [or “bulges”] because of fatness.” This in turn might refer to their greed; their eyes “bug out” when they see rich food or produce (the noun חֵלֶב [khelev, “fatness”] sometimes refers to such food or produce). However, when used with the verb יָצָא (yatsa’, “go out”) the preposition מִן (“from”) more naturally indicates source. For this reason it is preferable to emend עֵינֵמוֹ (’enemo, “their eye”) to עֲוֹנָמוֹ, (’avonamo, “their sin”) and read, “and their sin proceeds forth from fatness,” that is, their prosperity gives rise to their sinful attitudes. If one follows this textual reading, another interpretive option is to take חֵלֶב (“fatness”) in the sense of “unreceptive, insensitive” (see its use in Ps 17:10). In this case, the sin of the wicked proceeds forth from their spiritual insensitivity.
[73:7] 56 tn Heb “the thoughts of [their] heart [i.e., mind] cross over” (i.e., violate God’s moral boundary, see Ps 17:3).
[73:8] 57 tn The verb מוּק (muq, “mock”) occurs only here in the OT.
[73:8] 58 tn Heb “and speak with evil.”
[73:8] 59 tn Heb “oppression from an elevated place they speak.” The traditional accentuation of the MT places “oppression” with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate, “they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an elevated place [i.e., “proudly”] they speak.” By placing “oppression” with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in the parallelism.
[73:9] 60 tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.
[73:10] 61 tc Heb “therefore his people return [so Qere (marginal reading); Kethib (consonantal text) has “he brings back”] to here, and waters of abundance are sucked up by them.” The traditional Hebrew text (MT) defies explanation. The present translation reflects M. Dahood’s proposed emendations (Psalms [AB], 2:190) and reads the Hebrew text as follows: לָכֵן יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם וּמֵי מָלֵא יָמֹצּוּ לָמוֹ (“therefore they are filled with food, and waters of abundance they suck up for themselves”). The reading יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם (yisvÿ’um lekhem, “they are filled with food”) assumes (1) an emendation of יָשׁיּב עַמּוֹ (yashyyv, “he will bring back his people”) to יִשְׂבְעוּם (yisvÿ’um, “they will be filled”; a Qal imperfect third masculine plural form from שָׂבַע [sava’] with enclitic mem [ם]), and (2) an emendation of הֲלֹם (halom, “to here”) to לֶחֶם (“food”). The expression “be filled/fill with food” appears elsewhere at least ten times (see Ps 132:15, for example). In the second line the Niphal form יִמָּצוּ (yimmatsu, derived from מָצָה, matsah, “drain”) is emended to a Qal form יָמֹצּוּ (yamotsu), derived from מָצַץ (matsats, “to suck”). In Isa 66:11 the verbs שָׂבַע (sava’; proposed in Ps 73:10a) and מָצַץ (proposed in Ps 73:10b) are parallel. The point of the emended text is this: Because they are seemingly sovereign (v. 9), they become greedy and grab up everything they need and more.
[73:11] 62 tn Heb “How does God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High?” They appear to be practical atheists, who acknowledge God’s existence and sovereignty in theory, but deny his involvement in the world (see Pss 10:4, 11; 14:1).
[73:12] 63 tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”
[73:12] 64 tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”
[73:13] 65 tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.
[73:13] 66 tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
[73:13] 67 tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.
[73:15] 68 tn Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’”
[73:15] 69 tn Heb “look, the generation of your sons I would have betrayed.” The phrase “generation of your [i.e., God’s] sons” occurs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with “generation of the godly” (Ps 14:5), “generation of the ones seeking him” (Ps 24:6), and “generation of the upright” (Ps 112:2). In Deut 14:1 the Israelites are referred to as God’s “sons.” Perhaps the psalmist refers here to those who are “Israelites” in the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxtaposition of “Israel” with “the pure in heart” in v. 1).
[73:16] 70 tn Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”
[73:17] 71 tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).
[73:17] 72 tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.
[73:18] 73 tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.
[73:18] 74 tn Heb “cause them to fall.”
[73:19] 75 tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”
[73:20] 76 tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.
[73:20] 77 sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.
[73:20] 78 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.
[73:21] 79 tn Or perhaps “when.”
[73:21] 80 tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.
[73:21] 81 tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.
[73:22] 82 tn Or “brutish, stupid.”
[73:22] 83 tn Heb “and I was not knowing.”
[73:22] 84 tn Heb “an animal I was with you.”
[73:24] 85 tn The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.
[73:24] 86 tn Heb “and afterward [to] glory you will take me.” Some interpreters view this as the psalmist’s confidence in an afterlife in God’s presence and understand כָּבוֹד (cavod) as a metonymic reference to God’s presence in heaven. But this seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist anticipates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “take”) here carries the nuance “lead, guide, conduct,” as in Num 23:14, 27-28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.
[73:25] 87 tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.
[73:26] 88 tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).
[73:26] 90 tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the
[73:27] 92 sn The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.
[73:27] 93 tn Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”
[73:28] 94 tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”
[73:28] 95 tn The infinitive construct with -לְ (lÿ) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).
[74:1] 96 sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586
[74:1] 97 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
[74:1] 98 sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.
[74:1] 99 tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.
[74:2] 100 tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.
[74:2] 101 tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).
[74:2] 102 tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).
[74:3] 103 tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”
[74:3] 104 tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”
[74:4] 105 tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.
[74:4] 106 tn Heb “your meeting place.”
[74:4] 107 tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).
[74:5] 108 tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.
[74:6] 109 tn This is the reading of the Qere (marginal reading). The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and a time.”
[74:6] 110 tn The imperfect verbal form vividly describes the act as underway.
[74:6] 111 tn Heb “its engravings together.”
[74:6] 112 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49-50).
[74:6] 113 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. An Akkadian cognate refers to a “pickaxe” (cf. NEB “hatchet and pick”; NIV “axes and hatchets”; NRSV “hatchets and hammers”).
[74:7] 114 tn Heb “to the ground they desecrate the dwelling place of your name.”
[74:8] 115 tn Heb “in their heart.”
[74:8] 116 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] 117 tn Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”
[74:9] 118 tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).
[74:9] 119 tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”
[74:9] 120 tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”
[74:11] 121 tn Heb “Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? From the midst of your chest, destroy!” The psalmist pictures God as having placed his right hand (symbolic of activity and strength) inside his robe against his chest. He prays that God would pull his hand out from under his robe and use it to destroy the enemy.
[74:12] 122 tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.
[74:12] 123 tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”
[74:13] 124 tn The derivation and meaning of the Polel verb form פּוֹרַרְתָּ (porarta) are uncertain. The form may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “break, shatter,” though the biblical Hebrew cognate of this verb always appears in the Hiphil or Hophal stem. BDB 830 s.v. II פָּרַר suggests a homonym here, meaning “to split; to divide.” A Hitpolel form of a root פָּרַר (parar) appears in Isa 24:19 with the meaning “to shake violently.”
[74:13] 125 tn The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has been misunderstood as a plural ending. The imagery of the mythological sea monster is utilized here. See the note on “Leviathan” in v. 14.
[74:14] 126 sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (’aqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.
[74:14] 127 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.
[74:14] 128 sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).
[74:15] 129 sn You broke open the spring and the stream. Perhaps this alludes to the way in which God provided water for the Israelites as they traveled in the wilderness following the exodus (see Ps 78:15-16, 20; 105:41).
[74:15] 130 sn Perpetually flowing rivers are rivers that contain water year round, unlike the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season. Perhaps the psalmist here alludes to the drying up of the Jordan River when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan under Joshua (see Josh 3-4).
[74:16] 131 tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”
[74:16] 132 tn Heb “[the] light.” Following the reference to “day and night” and in combination with “sun,” it is likely that the Hebrew term מָאוֹר (ma’or, “light”) refers here to the moon.
[74:16] 133 tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”
[74:17] 134 tn This would appear to refer to geographical boundaries, such as mountains, rivers, and seacoasts. However, since the day-night cycle has just been mentioned (v. 16) and the next line speaks of the seasons, it is possible that “boundaries” here refers to the divisions of the seasons. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:156.
[74:17] 135 tn Heb “summer and winter, you, you formed them.”
[74:18] 136 tn Heb “remember this.”
[74:18] 137 tn Or “[how] the enemy insults the
[74:19] 138 sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.
[74:19] 139 tn Heb “do not forget forever.”
[74:20] 140 tc Heb “look at the covenant.” The LXX reads “your covenant,” which seems to assume a second person pronominal suffix. The suffix may have been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word (כִּי) begins with kaf (כ).
[74:20] 141 tn Heb “for the dark places of the earth are full of dwelling places of violence.” The “dark regions” are probably the lands where the people have been exiled (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:157). In some contexts “dark regions” refers to Sheol (Ps 88:6) or to hiding places likened to Sheol (Ps 143:3; Lam 3:6).
[74:21] 142 sn Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! The statement is metonymic. The point is this: May the oppressed be delivered from their enemies! Then they will have ample reason to praise God’s name.
[74:22] 143 tn Or “defend your cause.”
[74:22] 144 tn Heb “remember your reproach from a fool all the day.”
[74:23] 146 tn Heb “the voice of your enemies.”
[74:23] 147 tn Heb “the roar of those who rise up against you, which ascends continually.”
[75:1] 148 sn Psalm 75. The psalmist celebrates God’s just rule, which guarantees that the godly will be vindicated and the wicked destroyed.
[75:1] 149 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-59.
[75:1] 150 tn Heb “and near [is] your name.”
[75:2] 151 tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in vv. 2-3.
[75:2] 152 tn Heb “when I take an appointed time.”
[75:2] 153 tn Heb “I, [in] fairness, I judge.” The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically executes fair judgment as he governs the world. One could take this as referring to an anticipated (future) judgment, “I will judge.”
[75:3] 155 tn The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically prevents the world from being overrun by chaos. One could take this as referring to an anticipated event, “I will make its pillars secure.”
[75:4] 156 tn The identity of the speaker in vv. 4-6 is unclear. The present translation assumes that the psalmist, who also speaks in vv. 7-9 (where God/the
[75:4] 157 tn Heb “do not lift up a horn.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Here the idiom seems to refer to an arrogant attitude that assumes victory has been achieved.
[75:5] 158 tn Heb “do not lift up on high your horn.”
[75:5] 159 tn Heb “[do not] speak with unrestrained neck.” The negative particle is understood in this line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[75:5] sn The image behind the language of vv. 4-5 is that of a powerful wild ox that confidently raises its head before its enemies.
[75:6] 160 tn Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4-5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.
[75:7] 162 tn The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.
[75:8] 163 tn Heb “for a cup [is] in the hand of the
[75:8] 164 tn Heb “and he pours out from this.”
[75:8] 165 tn Heb “surely its dregs they slurp up and drink, all the wicked of the earth.”
[75:8] sn The psalmist pictures God as forcing the wicked to gulp down an intoxicating drink that will leave them stunned and vulnerable. Divine judgment is also depicted this way in Ps 60:3; Isa 51:17-23; and Hab 2:16.
[75:9] 166 tn Heb “I will declare forever.” The object needs to be supplied; God’s just judgment is in view.
[75:10] 167 tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in v. 10.
[75:10] 168 tn Heb “and all the horns of the wicked I will cut off, the horns of the godly will be lifted up.” The imagery of the wild ox’s horn is once more utilized (see vv. 4-5).
[76:1] 169 sn Psalm 76. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior who destroys Israel’s enemies.
[76:1] 170 tn Or “God is known in Judah.”
[76:1] 171 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
[76:2] 172 sn Salem is a shorter name for Jerusalem (see Gen 14:18).
[76:2] 173 tn Heb “and his place of refuge is in Salem, and his lair in Zion.” God may be likened here to a lion (see v. 4).
[76:3] 174 tn Heb “flames of the bow,” i.e., arrows.
[76:3] 175 tn Heb “shield and sword and battle.” “Battle” probably here stands by metonymy for the weapons of war in general.
[76:3] sn This verse may allude to the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians in 701
[76:4] 176 tn Heb “radiant [are] you, majestic from the hills of prey.” God is depicted as a victorious king and as a lion that has killed its victims.
[76:5] 177 tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).
[76:5] 178 tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).
[76:5] 179 tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”
[76:5] 180 tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”
[76:6] 181 tn Heb “from your shout.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 18:15; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
[76:6] 182 tn Or “chariot,” but even so the term is metonymic for the charioteer.
[76:6] 183 tn Heb “he fell asleep, and [the] chariot and [the] horse.” Once again (see v. 5) “sleep” refers here to the “sleep” of death.
[76:7] 184 tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).
[76:8] 185 tn Heb “a [legal] decision,” or “sentence.”
[76:8] 186 tn “The earth” stands here by metonymy for its inhabitants.
[76:10] 188 tn Heb “the anger of men will praise you.” This could mean that men’s anger (subjective genitive), when punished by God, will bring him praise, but this interpretation does not harmonize well with the next line. The translation assumes that God’s anger is in view here (see v. 7) and that “men” is an objective genitive. God’s angry judgment against men brings him praise because it reveals his power and majesty (see vv. 1-4).
[76:10] 189 tn Heb “the rest of anger you put on.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear. Perhaps the idea is that God, as he prepares for battle, girds himself with every last ounce of his anger, as if it were a weapon.
[76:11] 190 tn The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.
[76:12] 191 tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.
[76:12] 192 tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”
[77:1] 193 sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.
[77:1] 194 tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.
[77:1] 195 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).
[77:2] 196 tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.
[77:2] 197 tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.
[77:2] 198 tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
[77:3] 199 tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).
[77:4] 200 tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).
[77:4] 201 tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.
[77:5] 202 tn Heb “the years of antiquity.”
[77:6] 203 tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.
[77:7] 204 tn As in vv. 4 and 6a, the words of vv. 7-9 are understood as a quotation of what the psalmist said earlier. Therefore the words “I asked” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[77:8] 205 tn Heb “word,” which may refer here to God’s word of promise (note the reference to “loyal love” in the preceding line).
[77:10] 206 tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
[77:10] 207 tc Heb “And I said, ‘This is my wounding, the changing of the right hand of the Most High.’” The form חַלּוֹתִי (khallotiy) appears to be a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלַל (khalal, “to pierce; to wound”). The present translation assumes an emendation to חֲלוֹתִי (khalotiy), a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלָה (khalah, “be sick, weak”). The form שְׁנוֹת (shÿnot) is understood as a Qal infinitive construct from שָׁנָה (shanah, “to change”) rather than a plural noun form, “years” (see v. 5). “Right hand” here symbolizes by metonymy God’s power and activity. The psalmist observes that his real problem is theological in nature. His experience suggests that the sovereign Lord has abandoned him and become inactive. However, this goes against the grain of his most cherished beliefs.
[77:11] 208 tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”
[77:11] sn The psalmist refuses to allow skepticism to win out. God has revealed himself to his people in tangible, incontrovertible ways in the past and the psalmist vows to remember the historical record as a source of hope for the future.
[77:13] 209 sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist’s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God’s work in Israel’s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God’s help (see v. 1).
[77:13] 210 tn Heb “O God, in holiness [is] your way.” God’s “way” here refers to his actions. “Holiness” is used here in the sense of “set apart, unique,” rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God’s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.
[77:13] 211 tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”
[77:15] 213 tn Heb “with [your] arm.”
[77:16] 214 tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.
[77:16] 215 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
[77:16] 216 tn The words “of the sea” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[77:16] 217 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
[77:17] 219 tn Heb “a sound the clouds gave.”
[77:17] 220 tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the
[77:18] 221 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
[77:18] sn Verses 16-18 depict the
[77:19] 222 tn Heb “in the sea [was] your way.”
[77:19] 223 tn Heb “and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.”
[77:19] 224 tn Heb “and your footprints were not known.”
[78:1] 225 sn Psalm 78. The author of this lengthy didactic psalm rehearses Israel’s history. He praises God for his power, goodness and patience, but also reminds his audience that sin angers God and prompts his judgment. In the conclusion to the psalm the author elevates Jerusalem as God’s chosen city and David as his chosen king.
[78:1] 226 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 74.
[78:1] 227 tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”
[78:2] 228 tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).
[78:3] 230 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).
[78:4] 231 tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).
[78:4] 232 tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the
[78:5] 233 tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).
[78:5] 234 tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the
[78:6] 235 tn Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”
[78:8] 237 tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).
[78:9] 238 tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.
[78:9] 239 tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (noshÿqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (romey, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (noshÿqey qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.
[78:9] 240 sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).
[78:10] 241 tn Heb “the covenant of God.”
[78:11] 243 tn Heb “his deeds.”
[78:12] 244 sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).
[78:15] 245 tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”
[78:17] 246 tn Heb “rebelling [against] the Most High.”
[78:18] 247 tn Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.
[78:19] 248 tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”
[78:19] 249 tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”
[78:21] 251 tn Heb “therefore.”
[78:21] 252 tn Heb “and also anger went up.”
[78:22] 253 tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”
[78:24] 254 sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.
[78:25] 255 sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[78:25] 256 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
[78:27] 257 tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”
[78:29] 258 tn Heb “and they ate and were very satisfied.”
[78:30] 259 tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”
[78:32] 260 tn Heb “and did not believe in his amazing deeds.”
[78:33] 261 tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”
[78:33] 262 tn Heb “and their years in terror.”
[78:34] 263 tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.
[78:34] 264 tn Heb “they sought him.”
[78:35] 265 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
[78:35] 266 tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”
[78:36] 267 tn Heb “with their mouth.”
[78:36] 268 tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”
[78:37] 269 tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”
[78:38] 270 tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.
[78:39] 271 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.
[78:39] 272 tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”
[78:40] 273 tn Or “caused him pain.”
[78:41] 274 tn Heb “and they returned and tested God.” The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate that an earlier action was repeated.
[78:41] 275 tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.
[78:41] 276 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the
[78:42] 277 tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.
[78:42] 278 tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”
[78:43] 279 tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
[78:43] 280 tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).
[78:45] 281 tn Heb “and he sent an insect swarm against them and it devoured them.”
[78:45] 282 tn Heb “and a swarm of frogs and it destroyed them.”
[78:48] 283 tn Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”
[78:48] 284 tn Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.
[78:49] 285 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.
[78:49] 286 tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”
[78:50] 287 tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.
[78:50] 288 tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”
[78:51] 289 tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).
[78:54] 290 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.”
[78:54] 291 tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).
[78:55] 292 tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”
[78:55] 293 tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”
[78:56] 294 tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”
[78:56] 295 tn Heb “God, the Most High.”
[78:56] 297 tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).
[78:57] 298 tn Heb “they turned back.”
[78:57] 299 tn Or “acted treacherously like.”
[78:57] 300 tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
[78:58] 301 tn Traditionally, “high places.”
[78:61] 303 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.
[78:61] 304 tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
[78:61] 305 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
[78:62] 306 tn Heb “his inheritance.”
[78:63] 307 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:63] 308 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:63] 309 tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.
[78:64] 310 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:64] 311 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:64] 312 sn Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.
[78:65] 313 tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The
[78:65] 314 tn Heb “like a warrior overcome with wine.” The Hebrew verb רוּן (run, “overcome”) occurs only here in the OT. The phrase “overcome with wine” could picture a drunken warrior controlled by his emotions and passions (as in the present translation), or it could refer to a warrior who awakes from a drunken stupor.
[78:66] 315 tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”
[78:69] 316 tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.
[78:69] 317 tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”
[78:71] 318 tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”
[78:71] 319 tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”
[78:72] 320 tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[78:72] 321 tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”
[78:72] 322 tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”
[79:1] 323 sn Psalm 79. The author laments how the invading nations have destroyed the temple and city of Jerusalem. He asks God to forgive his people and to pour out his vengeance on those who have mistreated them.
[79:1] 325 tn Heb “have come into your inheritance.”
[79:1] 326 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[79:2] 327 tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”
[79:3] 328 tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”
[79:4] 329 tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.” See Ps 44:13.
[79:5] 330 tn Heb “How long, O
[79:5] 331 tn Or “jealous anger.”
[79:6] 332 tn Heb “which do not know you.” Here the Hebrew term “know” means “acknowledge the authority of.”
[79:6] 333 sn The kingdoms that do not pray to you. The people of these kingdoms pray to other gods, not the Lord, because they do not recognize his authority over them.
[79:8] 334 tn Heb “do not remember against us sins, former.” Some understand “former” as an attributive adjective modifying sins, “former [i.e., chronologically prior] sins” (see BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). The present translation assumes that ראשׁנים (“former”) here refers to those who lived formerly, that is, the people’s ancestors (see Lam 5:7). The word is used in this way in Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14 and Eccl 1:11.
[79:8] 335 tn Heb “may your compassion quickly confront us.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating a tone of prayer.
[79:8] 336 tn Heb “for we are very low.”
[79:9] 337 tn Heb “the glory of your name.” Here and in the following line “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
[79:9] 338 tn Heb “your name.”
[79:10] 339 tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”
[79:11] 340 tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”
[79:11] 341 tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.
[79:12] 342 tn Heb “Return to our neighbors sevenfold into their lap.” The number seven is used rhetorically to express the thorough nature of the action. For other rhetorical/figurative uses of the Hebrew phrase שִׁבְעָתַיִם (shiv’atayim, “seven times”) see Gen 4:15, 24; Ps 12:6; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.
[79:12] 343 tn Heb “their reproach with which they reproached you, O Lord.”
[79:13] 344 tn Or (hyperbolically) “will thank you forever.”
[79:13] 345 tn Heb “to a generation and a generation we will report your praise.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.
[80:1] 346 sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.
[80:1] 347 tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.
[80:1] 348 sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
[80:1] 349 tn Heb “shine forth.”
[80:1] sn Reveal your splendor. The psalmist may allude to Deut 33:2, where God “shines forth” from Sinai and comes to superintend Moses’ blessing of the tribes.
[80:2] 350 tn Heb “stir up”; “arouse.”
[80:2] 351 tn Heb “come for our deliverance.”
[80:3] 352 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[80:3] 353 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
[80:4] 354 tn Heb “
[80:4] 355 tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.
[80:5] 356 tn Heb “you have fed them the food of tears.”
[80:5] 357 tn Heb “[by] the third part [of a measure].” The Hebrew term שָׁלִישׁ (shalish, “third part [of a measure]”) occurs only here and in Isa 40:12.
[80:6] 358 tn Heb “you have made us an object of contention to our neighbors.”
[80:7] 359 tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also v. 4 for a similar construction.
[80:7] 360 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[80:7] 361 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
[80:8] 362 sn The vine is here a metaphor for Israel (see Ezek 17:6-10; Hos 10:1).
[80:9] 363 tn Heb “you cleared away before it.”
[80:9] 364 tn Heb “and it took root [with] its roots.”
[80:10] 365 tn Heb “cedars of God.” The divine name אֵל (’al, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.
[80:11] 366 tn Heb “to [the] sea.” The “sea” refers here to the Mediterranean Sea.
[80:11] 367 tn Heb “to [the] river.” The “river” is the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. Israel expanded both to the west and to the east.
[80:12] 368 sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).
[80:12] 369 tn Heb “pluck it.”
[80:13] 370 tn The Hebrew verb כִּרְסֵם (kirsem, “to eat away; to ruin”) occurs only here in the OT.
[80:13] 371 tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word translated “insects,” which occurs only here and in Ps 50:11, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.
[80:14] 372 tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7 for a similar construction.
[80:15] 373 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן emends the form to כַּנָּהּ (kannah, “its shoot”).
[80:15] 374 tn Heb “and upon a son you strengthened for yourself.” In this context, where the extended metaphor of the vine dominates, בֵּן (ben, “son”) probably refers to the shoots that grow from the vine. Cf. Gen 49:22.
[80:16] 375 tn Heb “burned with fire.”
[80:16] 376 tn Heb “because of the rebuke of your face they perish.”
[80:17] 377 tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)
[80:17] 378 tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.
[80:18] 379 tn Heb “and in your name we will call.”
[80:19] 380 tn Heb “O
[80:19] 381 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[80:19] 382 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
[81:1] 383 sn Psalm 81. The psalmist calls God’s people to assemble for a festival and then proclaims God’s message to them. The divine speech (vv. 6-16) recalls how God delivered the people from Egypt, reminds Israel of their rebellious past, expresses God’s desire for his people to obey him, and promises divine protection in exchange for obedience.
[81:1] 384 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument. See the superscription to Ps 8.
[81:3] 386 tn Heb “at the new moon.”
[81:3] sn New moon festivals were a monthly ritual in Israel (see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 469-70). In this context the New Moon festival of the seventh month, when the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated (note the reference to a “festival” in the next line), may be in view.
[81:3] 387 tn Heb “at the full moon on the day of our festival.” The Hebrew word כֶּסֶה (keseh) is an alternate spelling of כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”).
[81:3] sn The festival in view is probably the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), which began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month when the moon was full. See Lev 23:34; Num 29:12.
[81:4] 388 tn Heb “because a statute for Israel [is] it.”
[81:5] 389 tn Heb “in his going out against the land of Egypt.” This apparently refers to the general time period of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The LXX reads, “from Egypt,” in which case “Joseph” (see the preceding line) would be the subject of the verb, “when he [Joseph = Israel] left Egypt.”
[81:5] 390 tn Heb “a lip I did not know, I heard.” Here the term “lip” probably stands for speech or a voice. Apparently the psalmist speaks here and refers to God’s voice, whose speech is recorded in the following verses.
[81:6] 391 tn The words “It said” are not included in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[81:6] 392 sn I removed the burden. The Lord speaks metaphorically of how he delivered his people from Egyptian bondage. The reference to a basket/burden probably alludes to the hard labor of the Israelites in Egypt, where they had to carry loads of bricks (see Exod 1:14).
[81:7] 393 tn Heb “I answered you in the hidden place of thunder.” This may allude to God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai, where he appeared in a dark cloud accompanied by thunder (see Exod 19:16).
[81:7] 394 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at the place called Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
[81:8] 395 tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the
[81:8] 396 tn Or perhaps “command.”
[81:8] 397 tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
[81:9] 398 tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 have a modal function, expressing what is obligatory.
[81:9] 399 tn Heb “different”; “illicit.”
[81:11] 400 tn Heb “did not listen to my voice.”
[81:11] 401 tn The Hebrew expression אָבָה לִי (’avah liy) means “submit to me” (see Deut 13:8).
[81:12] 402 tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”
[81:12] 403 tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).
[81:13] 404 tn Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).
[81:13] 405 tn Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”
[81:14] 406 tn Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).
[81:15] 407 tn “Those who hate the
[81:15] 408 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.
[81:15] 409 tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the
[81:15] tn The verb form at the beginning of the line is jussive, indicating that this is a prayer. The translation assumes that v. 15 is a parenthetical “curse” offered by the psalmist. Having heard the reference to Israel’s enemies (v. 14), the psalmist inserts this prayer, reminding the Lord that they are God’s enemies as well.
[81:16] 410 tn Heb “and he fed him from the best of the wheat.” The Hebrew text has a third person form of the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive attached. However, it is preferable, in light of the use of the first person in v. 14 and in the next line, to emend the verb to a first person form and understand the vav as conjunctive, continuing the apodosis of the conditional sentence of vv. 13-14. The third masculine singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in v. 6.
[81:16] sn I would feed. After the parenthetical “curse” in v. 15, the Lord’s speech continues here.
[81:16] 411 tn Heb “you.” The second person singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in vv. 7-10.
[81:16] 412 sn The language in this verse, particularly the references to wheat and honey, is reminiscent of Deut 32:13-14.
[82:1] 413 sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.
[82:1] 414 tn Or “presides over.”
[82:1] 415 tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.
[82:1] 416 sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).
[82:1] 417 sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).
[82:2] 418 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).
[82:2] 419 tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”
[82:3] 420 tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
[82:5] 422 sn Having addressed the defendants, God now speaks to those who are observing the trial, referring to the gods in the third person.
[82:5] 423 tn Heb “walk.” The Hitpael stem indicates iterative action, picturing these ignorant “judges” as stumbling around in the darkness.
[82:5] 424 sn These gods, though responsible for justice, neglect their duty. Their self-imposed ignorance (which the psalmist compares to stumbling around in the dark) results in widespread injustice, which threatens the social order of the world (the meaning of the phrase all the foundations of the earth crumble).
[82:6] 426 sn Normally in the OT the title Most High belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El (see v. 1, as well as Isa 14:13).
[82:7] 427 tn Heb “men.” The point in the context is mortality, however, not maleness.
[82:7] sn You will die like mortals. For the concept of a god losing immortality and dying, see Isa 14:12-15, which alludes to a pagan myth in which the petty god “Shining One, son of the Dawn,” is hurled into Sheol for his hubris.
[82:7] 428 tn Heb “like one of the rulers.” The comparison does not necessarily imply that they are not rulers. The expression “like one of” can sometimes mean “as one of” (Gen 49:16; Obad 11) or “as any other of” (Judg 16:7, 11).
[82:8] 429 tn The translation assumes that the Qal of נָחַל (nakhal) here means “to own; to possess,” and that the imperfect emphasizes a general truth. Another option is to translate the verb as future, “for you will take possession of all the nations” (cf. NIV “all the nations are your inheritance”).
[83:1] 430 sn Psalm 83. The psalmist asks God to deliver Israel from the attacks of foreign nations. Recalling how God defeated Israel’s enemies in the days of Deborah and Gideon, he prays that the hostile nations would be humiliated.
[83:1] 431 tn Heb “do not be deaf.”
[83:2] 432 tn Heb “lift up [their] head[s].” The phrase “lift up [the] head” here means “to threaten; to be hostile,” as in Judg 8:28.
[83:3] 433 tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”
[83:3] 434 tn Heb “and consult together against.”
[83:3] 435 tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”
[83:4] 436 tn Heb “we will cause them to disappear from [being] a nation.”
[83:5] 438 tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”
[83:5] 439 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
[83:6] 440 tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[83:6] 441 sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.
[83:7] 442 sn Some identify Gebal with the Phoenician coastal city of Byblos (see Ezek 27:9, where the name is spelled differently), though others locate this site south of the Dead Sea (see BDB 148 s.v. גְּבַל; HALOT 174 s.v. גְּבַל).
[83:7] 443 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[83:8] 444 tn Heb “they are an arm for the sons of Lot.” The “arm” is here a symbol of military might.
[83:8] sn The descendants of Lot were the Moabites and Ammonites.
[83:9] 445 tn Heb “do to them like Midian.”
[83:9] 446 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).
[83:10] 447 sn Endor is not mentioned in the accounts of Gideon’s or Barak’s victories, but both battles took place in the general vicinity of the town. (See Y. Aharoni and M. Avi-Yonah, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, 46, 54.) Because Sisera and Jabin are mentioned in v. 9b, many understand them to be the subject of the verbs in v. 10, though they relate v. 10 to Gideon’s victory, which is referred to in v. 9a, 11. (See, for example, Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 263.)
[83:10] 448 tn Heb “they were manure.” In addition to this passage, corpses are compared to manure in 2 Kgs 9:37; Jer 8:2; 9:21; 16:4; 25:33.
[83:11] 449 sn Oreb and Zeeb were the generals of the Midianite army that was defeated by Gideon. The Ephraimites captured and executed both of them and sent their heads to Gideon (Judg 7:24-25).
[83:11] 450 sn Zebah and Zalmunna were the Midianite kings. Gideon captured them and executed them (Judg 8:1-21).
[83:12] 451 tn The translation assumes that “Zebah and Zalmunna” are the antecedents of the relative pronoun (“who [said]”). Another option is to take “their nobles…all their rulers” as the antecedent and to translate, “those who say.”
[83:12] 452 tn Heb “let’s take possession for ourselves.”
[83:13] 453 tn Or “tumbleweed.” The Hebrew noun גַּלְגַּל (galgal) refers to a “wheel” or, metaphorically, to a whirling wind (see Ps 77:18). If taken in the latter sense here, one could understand the term as a metonymical reference to dust blown by a whirlwind (cf. NRSV “like whirling dust”). However, HALOT 190 s.v. II גַּלְגַּל understands the noun as a homonym referring to a “dead thistle” here and in Isa 17:13. The parallel line, which refers to קַשׁ (qash, “chaff”), favors this interpretation.
[83:14] 455 sn The imagery of fire and flames suggests unrelenting, destructive judgment.
[83:15] 456 tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 15 express the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
[83:16] 458 tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose or result (“then they will seek”).
[83:16] 459 tn Heb “your name,” which stands here for God’s person.
[83:17] 460 tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.
[83:17] 461 tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.
[83:18] 462 tn After the preceding jussives (v. 17), the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose (“so that they may know”) or result.
[83:18] 463 tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the
