Mazmur 69:26

69:26 For they harass ¹  the one whom you discipline; ² 

they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish. ³ 

Mazmur 88:5

88:5 adrift ⁴  among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power. ⁵ 

Mazmur 89:10

89:10 You crushed the Proud One ⁶  and killed it; ⁷ 

with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

[69:26]  ¹ tn Or “persecute”; Heb “chase.”

[69:26]  ² tn Heb “for you, the one whom you strike, they chase.”

[69:26]  ³ tn Heb “they announce the pain of your wounded ones” (i.e., “the ones whom you wounded,” as the parallel line makes clear).

[69:26]  sn The psalmist is innocent of the false charges made by his enemies (v. 4), but he is also aware of his sinfulness (v. 5) and admits that he experiences divine discipline (v. 26) despite his devotion to God (v. 9). Here he laments that his enemies take advantage of such divine discipline by harassing and slandering him. They “kick him while he’s down,” as the expression goes.

[88:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “from your hand.”

[89:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “Rahab.” The name “Rahab” means “proud one.” Since it is sometimes used of Egypt (see Ps 87:4; Isa 30:7), the passage may allude to the exodus. However, the name is also used of the sea (or the mythological sea creature) which symbolizes the disruptive forces of the world that seek to replace order with chaos (see Job 9:13; 26:12). Isa 51:9 appears to combine the mythological and historical referents. The association of Rahab with the sea in Ps 89 (see v. 9) suggests that the name carries symbolic force in this context. In this case the passage may allude to creation (see vv. 11-12), when God overcame the great deep and brought order out of chaos.

[89:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “like one fatally wounded.”