Mazmur 9:12

9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; ¹ 

he did not overlook ²  their cry for help ³ 

Mazmur 9:18

9:18 for the needy are not permanently ignored, ⁴ 

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. ⁵ 

Mazmur 10:18

10:18 You defend ⁶  the fatherless and oppressed, ⁷ 

so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them. ⁸ 

[9:12]  ¹ tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ² tn Heb “did not forget.”

[9:12]  ³ tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.

[9:18]  ⁴ tn Or “forgotten.”

[9:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “the hope of the afflicted does [not] perish forever.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The imperfect verbal forms express what typically happens.

[10:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “to judge (on behalf of),” or “by judging (on behalf of).”

[10:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “crushed.” See v. 10.

[10:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will not add again [i.e., “he will no longer”] to terrify, man from the earth.” The Hebrew term אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) refers here to the wicked nations (v. 16). By describing them as “from the earth,” the psalmist emphasizes their weakness before the sovereign, eternal king.