Mazmur 38:12

38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; ¹ 

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

Mazmur 40:14

40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life

be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ² 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ³ 

Mazmur 54:3

54:3 For foreigners ⁴  attack me; ⁵ 

ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. ⁶  (Selah)

Mazmur 70:2

70:2 May those who are trying to take my life

be embarrassed and ashamed! ⁷ 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ⁸ 

Mazmur 86:14

86:14 O God, arrogant men attack me; ⁹ 

a gang ¹⁰  of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. ¹¹ 

[38:12]  ¹ tn Heb “lay snares.”

[40:14]  ² tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones seeking my life to snatch it away.”

[40:14]  ³ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse (“may those…be…embarrassed and ashamed…may those…be turned back and ashamed”) are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[40:14]  sn See Ps 35:4 for a similar prayer.

[54:3]  ⁴ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read זֵדִים (zedim, “proud ones”) rather than זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”). (No matter which reading one chooses as original, dalet-resh confusion accounts for the existence of the variant.) The term זֵדִים (“proud ones”) occurs in parallelism with עָרִיצִים (’aritsim, “violent ones”) in Ps 86:14 and Isa 13:11. However, זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) is parallel to עָרִיצִים (’aritsim, “violent ones”) in Isa 25:5; 29:5; Ezek 28:7; 31:12.

[54:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “rise against me.”

[54:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”

[70:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed, the ones seeking my life.” Ps 40:14 has “together” after “ashamed,” and “to snatch it away” after “my life.”

[70:2]  ⁸ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[70:2]  sn See Ps 35:4 for a similar prayer.

[86:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “rise up against me.”

[86:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “assembly.”

[86:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.