Mazmur 28:3

28:3 Do not drag me away with evil men,

with those who behave wickedly, ¹ 

who talk so friendly to their neighbors, ² 

while they plan to harm them! ³ 

Mazmur 40:16

40:16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!

May those who love to experience ⁴  your deliverance say continually, ⁵ 

“May the Lord be praised!” ⁶ 

Mazmur 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ⁷ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ⁸ 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ⁹ 

Mazmur 70:4

70:4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!

May those who love to experience ¹⁰  your deliverance say continually, ¹¹ 

“May God ¹²  be praised!” ¹³ 

[28:3]  ¹ tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”

[28:3]  ² tn Heb “speakers of peace with their neighbors.”

[28:3]  ³ tn Heb “and evil [is] in their heart[s].”

[40:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by the Lord.

[40:16]  ⁵ tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing upon the godly.

[40:16]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great” (cf. NRSV). See Ps 35:27.

[55:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[70:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by God.

[70:4]  ¹¹ tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing on the godly.

[70:4]  ¹² tn Ps 40:16 uses the divine name “Lord” here instead of “God.”

[70:4]  ¹³ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great.” See Ps 35:27.