Mazmur 34:21-22

34:21 Evil people self-destruct; ¹ 

those who hate the godly are punished. ² 

34:22 The Lord rescues his servants; ³ 

all who take shelter in him escape punishment. ⁴ 

Mazmur 50:16

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ⁵ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ⁶ 

Mazmur 78:7

78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.

They will not forget the works of God,

and they will obey ⁷  his commands.

Mazmur 97:8

97:8 Zion hears and rejoices,

the towns ⁸  of Judah are happy,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

Mazmur 119:73

י (Yod)

119:73 Your hands made me and formed me. ⁹ 

Give me understanding so that I might learn ¹⁰  your commands.

Mazmur 119:78

119:78 May the arrogant be humiliated, for they have slandered me! ¹¹ 

But I meditate on your precepts.

[34:21]  ¹ tn Heb “evil kills the wicked [one].” The singular form is representative; the typical evil person is envisioned. The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action.

[34:21]  ² tn Heb “are guilty,” but the verb is sometimes used metonymically with the meaning “to suffer the consequences of guilt,” the effect being substituted for the cause.

[34:22]  ³ tn Heb “redeems the life of his servants.” The Hebrew participial form suggests such deliverance is characteristic.

[34:22]  ⁴ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:19).

[50:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. 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, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[78:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “keep.”

[97:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[119:73]  ⁹ tn Heb “made me and established me.” The two verbs also appear together in Deut 32:6, where God, compared to a father, is said to have “made and established” Israel.

[119:73]  ¹⁰ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:78]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for [with] falsehood they have denied me justice.”