Mazmur 11:2

11:2 For look, the wicked ¹  prepare ²  their bows, ³ 

they put their arrows on the strings,

to shoot in the darkness ⁴  at the morally upright. ⁵ 

Mazmur 36:10

36:10 Extend ⁶  your loyal love to your faithful followers, ⁷ 

and vindicate ⁸  the morally upright! ⁹ 

Mazmur 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ¹⁰  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 58:1

Psalm 58 ¹² 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ¹³  a prayer ¹⁴  of David.

58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions? ¹⁵ 

Do you judge people ¹⁶  fairly?

Mazmur 64:10

64:10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord

and take shelter in him.

All the morally upright ¹⁷  will boast. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 67:4

67:4 Let foreigners ¹⁹  rejoice and celebrate!

For you execute justice among the nations,

and govern the people living on earth. ²⁰  (Selah)

Mazmur 140:13

140:13 Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;

the morally upright will live in your presence.

[11:2]  ¹ tn In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and threaten his people (Ps 3:8).

[11:2]  ² tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form depicts the enemies’ hostile action as underway.

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “a bow.”

[11:2]  ⁴ sn In the darkness. The enemies’ attack, the precise form of which is not indicated, is compared here to a night ambush by archers; the psalmist is defenseless against this deadly attack.

[11:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[36:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “draw out to full length.”

[36:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “to those who know you.” The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “know”) is used here of those who “know” the Lord in the sense that they recognize his royal authority and obey his will (see Jer 22:16).

[36:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and your justice to.” The verb “extend” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the previous line).

[36:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[37:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[58:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 58. The psalmist calls on God to punish corrupt judges because a vivid display of divine judgment will convince observers that God is the just judge of the world who vindicates the godly.

[58:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 57, 59, and 75.

[58:1]  ¹⁴ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam) which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 56-57, 59-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[58:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Really [in] silence, what is right do you speak?” The Hebrew noun אֵלֶם (’elem, “silence”) makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some feel that this is an indictment of the addressees’ failure to promote justice; they are silent when they should make just decisions. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֵלִם (’elim), which in turn is understood as a defectively written form of אֵילִים (’elim, “rulers,” a metaphorical use of אַיִל, ’ayil, “ram”; see Exod 15:15; Ezek 17:13). The rhetorical question is sarcastic, challenging their claim to be just. Elsewhere the collocation of דָּבַר (davar, “speak”) with צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “what is right”) as object means “to speak the truth” (see Ps 52:3; Isa 45:19). Here it refers specifically to declaring what is right in a legal setting, as the next line indicates.

[58:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the sons of mankind.” The translation assumes the phrase is the object of the verb “to judge.” Some take it as a vocative, “Do you judge fairly, O sons of mankind?” (Cf. NASB; see Ezek 20:4; 22:2; 23:36.)

[64:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “upright in heart.”

[64:10]  ¹⁸ tn That is, about the Lord’s accomplishments on their behalf.

[67:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “peoples.”

[67:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).