Mazmur 10:10

10:10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they are trapped in his sturdy nets. ¹ 

Mazmur 18:5

18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, ² 

the snares of death trapped me. ³ 

Mazmur 25:16

25:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,

for I am alone ⁴  and oppressed!

Mazmur 38:8

38:8 I am numb with pain and severely battered; ⁵ 

I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel. ⁶ 

Mazmur 56:11

56:11 in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ⁷  do to me? ⁸ 

Mazmur 116:6

116:6 The Lord protects ⁹  the untrained; ¹⁰ 

I was in serious trouble ¹¹  and he delivered me.

Mazmur 118:6

118:6 The Lord is on my side, ¹²  I am not afraid!

What can people do to me? ¹³ 

[10:10]  ¹ tn Heb “he crushes, he is bowed down, and he falls into his strong [ones], [the] unfortunate [ones].” This verse presents several lexical and syntactical difficulties. The first word (יִדְכֶּה, yidekeh) is an otherwise unattested Qal form of the verb דָּכָה (dakhah, “crush”). (The Qere [marginal] form is imperfect; the consonantal text [Kethib] has the perfect with a prefixed conjunction vav [ו].) If the wicked man’s victim is the subject, which seems to be the case (note the two verbs which follow), then the form should be emended to a Niphal (יִדָּכֶה, yiddakheh). The phrase בַּעֲצוּמָיו (ba’atsumayv, “into his strong [ones]”), poses interpretive problems. The preposition -בְּ (bet) follows the verb נָפַל (nafal, “fall”), so it may very well carry the nuance “into” here, with “his strong [ones]” then referring to something into which the oppressed individual falls. Since a net is mentioned in the preceding verse as the instrument used to entrap the victim, it is possible that “strong [ones]” here refers metonymically to the wicked man’s nets or traps. Ps 35:8 refers to a man falling into a net (רֶשֶׁת, reshet), as does Ps 141:10 (where the plural of מִכְמָר [mikhmar, “net”] is used). A hunter’s net (רֶשֶׁת), is associated with snares (פַּח [pakh], מֹקְשִׁים, [moqÿshim]) and ropes (חֲבָלִים, khavalim) in Ps 140:5. The final word in the verse (חֶלְכָּאִים (khelka’im, “unfortunate [ones]”) may be an alternate form of חֵלְכָח (khelkhakh, “unfortunate [one]”; see vv. 8, 14). The Qere (marginal reading) divides the form into two words, חֵיל כָּאִים (khel ka’im, “army/host of disheartened [ones]”). The three verb forms in v. 10 are singular because the representative “oppressed” individual is the grammatical subject (see the singular עָנִי [’aniy] in v. 9).

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “confronted me.”

[25:16]  ⁴ tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.

[38:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.”

[38:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.”

[56:11]  ⁷ tn The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except “flesh” is used there instead of “man.”

[56:11]  ⁸ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[116:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.

[116:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.

[116:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I was low.”

[118:6]  ¹² tn Heb “for me.”

[118:6]  ¹³ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential. See Ps 56:11.