Mazmur 59:6-7

59:6 They return in the evening;

they growl ¹  like a dog

and prowl around outside ²  the city.

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ³ 

for they say, ⁴ 

“Who hears?”

[59:6]  ¹ tn Or “howl”; or “bark.”

[59:6]  ² tn Heb “go around.”

[59:7]  ³ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ⁴ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.