Mazmur 1:5

1:5 For this reason ¹  the wicked cannot withstand ²  judgment, ³ 

nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly. ⁴ 

Mazmur 9:17

9:17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol; ⁵ 

this is the destiny of ⁶  all the nations that ignore ⁷  God,

Mazmur 18:21

18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; ⁸ 

I have not rebelled against my God. ⁹ 

Mazmur 37:16

37:16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than

the wealth of many evil men, ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 73:12

73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, ¹¹ 

those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. ¹² 

Mazmur 82:2

82:2 He says, ¹³  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ¹⁴  (Selah)

Mazmur 94:21

94:21 They conspire against ¹⁵  the blameless, ¹⁶ 

and condemn to death the innocent. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 106:6

106:6 We have sinned like ¹⁸  our ancestors; ¹⁹ 

we have done wrong, we have done evil.

Mazmur 109:6

109:6 ²⁰ Appoint an evil man to testify against him! ²¹ 

May an accuser stand ²²  at his right side!

[1:5]  ¹ tn Or “Therefore.”

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “arise in,” but the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “stand”; “endure,” as in 1 Sam 13:14 and Job 8:15. The negated Hebrew imperfect verbal form is here taken as indicating incapability or lack of potential, though one could understand the verb form as indicating what is typical (“do not withstand”) or what will happen (“will not withstand”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “the judgment.” The article indicates a judgment that is definite in the mind of the speaker. In the immediate context this probably does not refer to the “final judgment” described in later biblical revelation, but to a temporal/historical judgment which the author anticipates. Periodically during the OT period, God would come in judgment, removing the wicked from the scene, while preserving a godly remnant (see Gen 6-9; Ps 37; Hab 3).

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and sinners in the assembly (or “circle”) of [the] godly.” The negative particle and verb from the preceding line are assumed by ellipsis here (“will not arise/stand”).

[1:5]  sn The assembly of the godly is insulated from divine judgment (Ps 37:12-17, 28-29).

[9:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked turn back to Sheol.” The imperfect verbal form either emphasizes what typically happens or describes vividly the aftermath of the Lord’s victory over the psalmist’s enemies. See v. 3.

[9:17]  ⁶ tn The words “this is the destiny of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The verb “are turned back” is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “forget.” “Forgetting God” refers here to worshiping false gods and thereby refusing to recognize his sovereignty (see also Deut 8:19; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; Isa 17:10; Jer 3:21; Ps 44:20). The nations’ refusal to acknowledge God’s sovereignty accounts for their brazen attempt to attack and destroy his people.

[18:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the Lord.” The phrase “ways of the Lord” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

[18:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical; the idea is, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”

[37:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Better [is] a little to the godly one than the wealth of many evil ones.” The following verses explain why this is true. Though a godly individual may seem to have only meager possessions, he always has what he needs and will eventually possess the land. The wicked may prosper for a brief time, but will eventually be destroyed by divine judgment and lose everything.

[73:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”

[73:12]  ¹² tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”

[82:2]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[94:21]  ¹⁵ tn Or “attack.”

[94:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the life of the blameless.”

[94:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the blood of the innocent they declare guilty.”

[106:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “with.”

[106:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).

[109:6]  ²⁰ sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view – that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist – see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.

[109:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”

[109:6]  ²² tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).