Mazmur 16:6

16:6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields

or received a beautiful tract of land. ¹ 

Mazmur 17:9

17:9 Protect me from ²  the wicked men who attack ³  me,

my enemies who crowd around me for the kill. ⁴ 

Mazmur 22:13

22:13 They ⁵  open their mouths to devour me ⁶ 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ⁷ 

Mazmur 35:21

35:21 They are ready to devour me; ⁸ 

they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!” ⁹ 

Mazmur 38:2

38:2 For your arrows pierce ¹⁰  me,

and your hand presses me down. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 50:5

50:5 He says: ¹² 

“Assemble my covenant people before me, ¹³ 

those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice!” ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 55:4

55:4 My heart beats violently ¹⁵  within me;

the horrors of death overcome me. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 56:12

56:12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God; ¹⁷ 

I will give you the thank-offerings you deserve, ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 57:2

57:2 I cry out for help to the sovereign God, ¹⁹ 

to the God who vindicates ²⁰  me.

Mazmur 86:13

86:13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me, ²¹ 

and will deliver my life ²²  from the depths of Sheol. ²³ 

Mazmur 88:7

88:7 Your anger bears down on me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)

Mazmur 88:17

88:17 They surround me like water all day long;

they join forces and encircle me. ²⁴ 

Mazmur 94:20

94:20 Cruel rulers ²⁵  are not your allies,

those who make oppressive laws. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 109:5

109:5 They repay me evil for good, ²⁷ 

and hate for love.

[16:6]  ¹ tn Heb “measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant [places]; yes, property [or “an inheritance”] is beautiful for me.” On the dative use of עַל, see BDB 758 s.v. II.8. Extending the metaphor used in v. 5, the psalmist compares the divine blessings he has received to a rich, beautiful tract of land that one might receive by allotment or inheritance.

[17:9]  ² tn Heb “from before”; or “because.” In the Hebrew text v. 9 is subordinated to v. 8. The words “protect me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:9]  ³ tn Heb “destroy.” The psalmist uses the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of danger. He describes the wicked as being already in the process of destroying him.

[17:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “my enemies, at the risk of life they surround me.” The Hebrew phrase בְּנֶפֶשׁ (bÿnefesh) sometimes has the nuance “at the risk of [one’s] life” (see 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23; Lam 5:9).

[22:13]  ⁵ tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).

[22:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[35:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they cause their mouth to be wide against me.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the generalizing mood of the previous verse. For other examples of this use of the prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive, see GKC 329 §111.t.

[35:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “our eye sees.” Apparently this is an idiom meaning to “look in triumph” or “gloat over” (see Ps 54:7).

[38:2]  ¹⁰ tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the Lord as a warrior who shoots arrows at him (see Ps 7:12-13).

[38:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It is preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2).

[50:5]  ¹² tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.

[50:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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).

[55:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “shakes, trembles.”

[55:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the terrors of death have fallen on me.”

[56:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “upon me, O God, [are] your vows.”

[56:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will repay thank-offerings to you.”

[57:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to God Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[57:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “avenges in favor of.”

[86:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”

[86:13]  ²² tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.

[86:13]  ²³ tn Or “lower Sheol.”

[88:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they encircle me together.”

[94:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.

[94:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.

[109:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”