Mazmur 10:3

10:3 Yes, ¹  the wicked man ²  boasts because he gets what he wants; ³ 

the one who robs others ⁴  curses ⁵  and ⁶  rejects the Lord. ⁷ 

Mazmur 27:12

27:12 Do not turn me over to my enemies, ⁸ 

for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me. ⁹ 

Mazmur 34:16

34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers

and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 35:8

35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! ¹¹ 

Let the net they hid catch them!

Let them fall into destruction! ¹² 

Mazmur 58:3

58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; ¹³ 

liars go astray as soon as they are born. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 68:3

68:3 But the godly ¹⁵  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 80:5

80:5 You have given them tears as food; ¹⁷ 

you have made them drink tears by the measure. ¹⁸ 

[10:3]  ¹ tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ² tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

[10:3]  ³ tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

[10:3]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

[10:3]  ⁵ tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

[10:3]  ⁶ tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

[27:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not give me over to the desire of my enemies.”

[27:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “for they have risen up against me, lying witnesses and a testifier of violence.” The form יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) is traditionally understood as a verb meaning “snort, breathe out”: “for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty” (KJV; cf. BDB 422 s.v.). A better option is to take the form as a noun meaning “a witness” (or “testifier”). See Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3.

[34:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”

[35:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.

[35:8]  ¹² tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.

[58:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the womb.”

[58:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “speakers of a lie go astray from the womb.”

[68:3]  ¹⁵ tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

[80:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you have fed them the food of tears.”

[80:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[by] the third part [of a measure].” The Hebrew term שָׁלִישׁ (shalish, “third part [of a measure]”) occurs only here and in Isa 40:12.