Mazmur 22:13

22:13 They ¹  open their mouths to devour me ² 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ³ 

Mazmur 55:20

55:20 He ⁴  attacks ⁵  his friends; ⁶ 

he breaks his solemn promises to them. ⁷ 

Mazmur 106:15

106:15 He granted their request,

then struck them with a disease. ⁸ 

Mazmur 118:10-11

118:10 All the nations surrounded me. ⁹ 

Indeed, in the name of the Lord ¹⁰  I pushed them away. ¹¹ 

118:11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.

Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.

Mazmur 119:150

119:150 Those who are eager to do ¹²  wrong draw near;

they are far from your law.

[22:13]  ¹ tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ² tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).

[22:13]  ³ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[55:20]  ⁴ sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.

[55:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”

[55:20]  ⁶ tc The form should probably be emended to an active participle (שֹׁלְמָיו, sholÿmayv) from the verbal root שָׁלַם (shalam, “be in a covenant of peace with”). Perhaps the translation “his friends” suggests too intimate a relationship. Another option is to translate, “he attacks those who made agreements with him.”

[55:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”

[106:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he sent leanness into their being.”

[106:15]  sn Disease. See Num 11:33-34, where this plague is described.

[118:10]  ⁹ sn The reference to an attack by the nations suggests the psalmist may have been a military leader.

[118:10]  ¹⁰ tn In this context the phrase “in the name of the Lord” means “by the Lord’s power.”

[118:10]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally the verb has been derived from מוּל (mul, “to circumcise”) and translated “[I] cut [them] off” (see BDB 557-58 s.v. II מוּל). However, it is likely that this is a homonym meaning “to fend off” (see HALOT 556 s.v. II מול) or “to push away.” In this context, where the psalmist is reporting his past experience, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite. The phrase also occurs in vv. 11, 12.

[119:150]  ¹² tn Heb “those who pursue.”