Mazmur 9:20

9:20 Terrify them, Lord! ¹ 

Let the nations know they are mere mortals! ²  (Selah)

Mazmur 10:5

10:5 He is secure at all times. ³ 

He has no regard for your commands; ⁴ 

he disdains all his enemies. ⁵ 

Mazmur 13:5

13:5 But I ⁶  trust in your faithfulness.

May I rejoice because of your deliverance! ⁷ 

Mazmur 21:13

21:13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength! ⁸ 

We will sing and praise ⁹  your power!

Mazmur 38:16

38:16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; ¹⁰ 

when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 144:7

144:7 Reach down ¹²  from above!

Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, ¹³ 

from the power of foreigners, ¹⁴ 

[9:20]  ¹ tn Heb “place, Lord, terror with regard to them.” The Hebrew term מוֹרָה (morah, “terror”) is an alternative form of מוֹרָא (mora’; a reading that appears in some mss and finds support in several ancient textual witnesses).

[9:20]  ² tn Heb “let the nations know they [are] man[kind]”; i.e., mere human beings (as opposed to God).

[10:5]  ³ tn Heb “they are firm, his ways, at every time.” The verb חַיִל (khayil, “be firm, be strong”) occurs only here and in Job 20:21, where it has the sense “endure.”

[10:5]  ⁴ tc Heb “[on a] height, your judgments from before him.” If the MT is retained, then the idea may be that God’s “judgments” are high above (i.e., not recognized) by the wicked man. However, the syntax is awkward. The translation assumes an emendation of מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) to סָרוּ (saru, “[your judgments] are turned aside”), the final mem (ם) being dittographic (note the initial mem on the immediately following word [מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, mishÿfatekha, “your judgments”). “Judgments” probably refers here to God’s laws or commands, rather than his judicial decisions or acts of judgment.

[10:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “all his enemies, he snorts against them.” This may picture the wicked man defiantly challenging his enemies because he is confident of success. Another option is to take יָפִיחַ (yafiakh) from the root יָפַח (yafakh, “to testify”) and translate “he testifies against all his enemies,” implying that he gets the upper hand over them in legal battles. The noun יָפֵחַ (yafeakh, “witness”) is attested in biblical Hebrew (see Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3). The verb, however, is not clearly attested.

[13:5]  ⁶ tn The grammatical construction used here (conjunction with independent pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s defeated condition envisioned in v. 4 and confident attitude he displays in v. 5.

[13:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “may my heart rejoice in your deliverance.” The verb form is jussive. Having expressed his trust in God’s faithful character and promises, the psalmist prays that his confidence will prove to be well-placed. “Heart” is used here of the seat of the emotions.

[21:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your strength,” but English idiom does not require the pronoun.

[21:13]  sn The psalm concludes with a petition to the Lord, asking him to continue to intervene in strength for the king and nation.

[21:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “sing praise.”

[38:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1).

[38:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13.

[144:7]  ¹² tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”

[144:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).

[144:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”