Psalms 4:4

4:4 Tremble with fear and do not sin! ¹ 

Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways! ²  (Selah)

Psalms 11:2

11:2 For look, the wicked ³  prepare ⁴  their bows, ⁵ 

they put their arrows on the strings,

to shoot in the darkness ⁶  at the morally upright. ⁷ 

Psalms 68:24

68:24 They ⁸  see your processions, O God –

the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor. ⁹ 

Psalms 69:2

69:2 I sink into the deep mire

where there is no solid ground; ¹⁰ 

I am in ¹¹  deep water,

and the current overpowers me.

Psalms 74:3

74:3 Hurry and look ¹²  at the permanent ruins,

and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! ¹³ 

Psalms 78:69

78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; ¹⁴ 

as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. ¹⁵ 

[4:4]  ¹ sn The psalmist warns his enemies that they need to tremble with fear before God and repudiate their sinful ways.

[4:4]  ² tn Heb “say in your heart(s) on your bed(s) and wail/lament.” The verb דֹמּוּ (dommu) is understood as a form of דָמָם (“wail, lament”) in sorrow and repentance. Another option is to take the verb from II דָמָם (damam, “be quiet”); cf. NIV, NRSV “be silent.”

[11:2]  ³ tn 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 (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and threaten his people (Ps 3:8).

[11:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form depicts the enemies’ hostile action as underway.

[11:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “a bow.”

[11:2]  ⁶ sn In the darkness. The enemies’ attack, the precise form of which is not indicated, is compared here to a night ambush by archers; the psalmist is defenseless against this deadly attack.

[11:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[68:24]  ⁵ tn The subject is probably indefinite, referring to bystanders in general who witness the procession.

[68:24]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has simply “in holiness.” The words “who marches along” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[69:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”

[69:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “have entered.”

[74:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”

[74:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”

[78:69]  ¹¹ tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.

[78:69]  ¹² tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”