Mazmur 12:8

12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere, ¹ 

when people promote evil. ² 

Mazmur 33:9

33:9 For he spoke, and it ³  came into existence,

he issued the decree, ⁴  and it stood firm.

Mazmur 107:25

107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, ⁵ 

and it stirred up the waves of the sea. ⁶ 

[12:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the wicked walk all around.” One could translate v. 8a as an independent clause, in which case it would be a concluding observation in proverbial style. The present translation assumes that v. 8a is a subordinate explanatory clause, or perhaps a subordinate temporal clause (“while the wicked walk all around”). The adverb סָבִיב (saviv, “around”), in combination with the Hitpael form of the verb “walk” (which indicates repeated action), pictures the wicked as ubiquitous. They have seemingly overrun society.

[12:8]  ² tn Heb “when evil is lifted up by the sons of man.” The abstract noun זֻלּוּת (zulut, “evil”) occurs only here. On the basis of evidence from the cognate languages (see HALOT 272 s.v.), one might propose the meaning “base character,” or “morally foolish behavior.”

[33:9]  ³ tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).

[33:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “he commanded.”

[107:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”

[107:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”