Mazmur 12:4

12:4 They say, ¹  “We speak persuasively; ² 

we know how to flatter and boast. ³ 

Who is our master?” ⁴ 

Mazmur 24:3

24:3 Who is allowed to ascend ⁵  the mountain of the Lord? ⁶ 

Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?

Mazmur 86:13

86:13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me, ⁷ 

and will deliver my life ⁸  from the depths of Sheol. ⁹ 

Mazmur 125:3

125:3 Indeed, ¹⁰  the scepter of a wicked king ¹¹  will not settle ¹² 

upon the allotted land of the godly.

Otherwise the godly might

do what is wrong. ¹³ 

[12:4]  ¹ tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.

[12:4]  ² tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.

[12:4]  ³ tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.

[12:4]  ⁴ sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.

[24:3]  ⁵ tn The imperfects in v. 3 are modal, expressing potential or permission.

[24:3]  ⁶ sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).

[86:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”

[86:13]  ⁸ tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.

[86:13]  ⁹ tn Or “lower Sheol.”

[125:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[125:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a scepter of wickedness.” The “scepter” symbolizes royal authority; when collocated with “wickedness” the phrase refers to an oppressive foreign conqueror.

[125:3]  ¹² tn Or “rest.”

[125:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “so that the godly might not stretch out their hands in wrongdoing.” A wicked king who sets a sinful example can have an adverse moral and ethical effect on the people he rules.