Mazmur 9:19

9:19 Rise up, Lord! ¹ 

Don’t let men be defiant! ² 

May the nations be judged in your presence!

Mazmur 10:10

10:10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they are trapped in his sturdy nets. ³ 

Mazmur 35:11

35:11 Violent men perjure themselves, ⁴ 

and falsely accuse me. ⁵ 

Mazmur 55:8

55:8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe

from the strong wind ⁶  and the gale.”

Mazmur 75:5

75:5 Do not be so certain you have won! ⁷ 

Do not speak with your head held so high! ⁸ 

Mazmur 89:9

89:9 You rule over the proud sea. ⁹ 

When its waves surge, ¹⁰  you calm them.

Mazmur 94:4

94:4 They spew out threats ¹¹  and speak defiantly;

all the evildoers boast. ¹² 

[9:19]  ¹ sn Rise up, Lord! …May the nations be judged. The psalm concludes with a petition that the Lord would continue to exercise his justice as he has done in the recent crisis.

[9:19]  ² tn Or “prevail.”

[10:10]  ³ 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).

[35:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “witnesses of violence rise up.”

[35:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “[that] which I do not know they ask me.”

[55:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the] wind [that] sweeps away.” The verb סָעָה (sa’ah, “sweep away”) occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 120).

[75:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “do not lift up on high your horn.”

[75:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “[do not] speak with unrestrained neck.” The negative particle is understood in this line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[75:5]  sn The image behind the language of vv. 4-5 is that of a powerful wild ox that confidently raises its head before its enemies.

[89:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “the majesty of the sea.”

[89:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “rise up.”

[94:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they gush forth [words].”

[94:4]  ¹² tn The Hitpael of אָמַר (’amar) occurs only here (and perhaps in Isa 61:6).