Mazmur 94:2-3

94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth!

Pay back the proud!

94:3 O Lord, how long will the wicked,

how long will the wicked celebrate? ¹ 

Mazmur 7:8-9

7:8 The Lord judges the nations. ² 

Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, ³ 

because I am blameless, ⁴  O Exalted One! ⁵ 

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ⁶  come to an end! ⁷ 

But make the innocent ⁸  secure, ⁹ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ¹⁰  inner thoughts and motives! ¹¹ 

Mazmur 9:16

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ¹²  (Higgaion. ¹³  Selah)

Mazmur 58:11

58:11 Then ¹⁴  observers ¹⁵  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ¹⁶ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ¹⁷  in the earth!”

Mazmur 125:3

125:3 Indeed, ¹⁸  the scepter of a wicked king ¹⁹  will not settle ²⁰ 

upon the allotted land of the godly.

Otherwise the godly might

do what is wrong. ²¹ 

[94:3]  ¹ tn Or “exult.”

[7:8]  ² sn The Lord judges the nations. In hyperbolic fashion the psalmist pictures the nations assembled around the divine throne (v. 7a). He urges God to take his rightful place on the throne (v. 7b) and then pictures him making judicial decisions that vindicate the innocent (see vv. 8-16).

[7:8]  ³ tn Heb “judge me, O Lord, according to my innocence.”

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.

[7:8]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.

[7:9]  ⁶ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.

[7:9]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ⁸ tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.

[7:9]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

[7:9]  ¹⁰ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.

[7:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[9:16]  ¹² tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

[9:16]  ¹³ tn This is probably a technical musical term.

[58:11]  ¹⁴ tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

[58:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ¹⁷ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.

[125:3]  ¹⁸ tn Or “for.”

[125:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a scepter of wickedness.” The “scepter” symbolizes royal authority; when collocated with “wickedness” the phrase refers to an oppressive foreign conqueror.

[125:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “rest.”

[125:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “so that the godly might not stretch out their hands in wrongdoing.” A wicked king who sets a sinful example can have an adverse moral and ethical effect on the people he rules.