Mazmur 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ¹ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ² 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ³ 

Mazmur 141:4

141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, ⁴ 

or participate in sinful activities

with men who behave wickedly. ⁵ 

I will not eat their delicacies. ⁶ 

[5:8]  ¹ tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.

[5:8]  ² tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).

[141:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”

[141:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”

[141:4]  ⁶ sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.