Mazmur 1:5

1:5 For this reason ¹  the wicked cannot withstand ²  judgment, ³ 

nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly. ⁴ 

Mazmur 51:13

51:13 Then I will teach ⁵  rebels your merciful ways, ⁶ 

and sinners will turn ⁷  to you.

Mazmur 58:3

58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; ⁸ 

liars go astray as soon as they are born. ⁹ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Or “Therefore.”

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “arise in,” but the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “stand”; “endure,” as in 1 Sam 13:14 and Job 8:15. The negated Hebrew imperfect verbal form is here taken as indicating incapability or lack of potential, though one could understand the verb form as indicating what is typical (“do not withstand”) or what will happen (“will not withstand”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “the judgment.” The article indicates a judgment that is definite in the mind of the speaker. In the immediate context this probably does not refer to the “final judgment” described in later biblical revelation, but to a temporal/historical judgment which the author anticipates. Periodically during the OT period, God would come in judgment, removing the wicked from the scene, while preserving a godly remnant (see Gen 6-9; Ps 37; Hab 3).

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and sinners in the assembly (or “circle”) of [the] godly.” The negative particle and verb from the preceding line are assumed by ellipsis here (“will not arise/stand”).

[1:5]  sn The assembly of the godly is insulated from divine judgment (Ps 37:12-17, 28-29).

[51:13]  ⁵ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.

[51:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).

[51:13]  ⁷ tn Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.

[58:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the womb.”

[58:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “speakers of a lie go astray from the womb.”