Mazmur 5:9

5:9 For ¹  they do not speak the truth; ² 

their stomachs are like the place of destruction, ³ 

their throats like an open grave, ⁴ 

their tongues like a steep slope leading into it. ⁵ 

Mazmur 28:1

Psalm 28 ⁶ 

By David.

28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My protector, ⁷  do not ignore me! ⁸ 

If you do not respond to me, ⁹ 

I will join ¹⁰  those who are descending into the grave. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 38:12

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

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

Mazmur 51:14

51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, ¹³  O God, the God who delivers me!

Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 54:3

54:3 For foreigners ¹⁵  attack me; ¹⁶ 

ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. ¹⁷  (Selah)

Mazmur 56:13

56:13 when you deliver ¹⁸  my life from death.

You keep my feet from stumbling, ¹⁹ 

so that I might serve ²⁰  God as I enjoy life. ²¹ 

Mazmur 62:3

62:3 How long will you threaten ²²  a man?

All of you are murderers, ²³ 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ²⁴ 

Mazmur 70:2

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

be embarrassed and ashamed! ²⁵ 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ²⁶ 

Mazmur 78:50

78:50 He sent his anger in full force; ²⁷ 

he did not spare them from death;

he handed their lives over to destruction. ²⁸ 

Mazmur 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ²⁹ 

Do not reject me, ³⁰ 

or I will join ³¹  those descending into the grave. ³² 

[5:9]  ¹ tn Or “certainly.”

[5:9]  ² tn Heb “for there is not in his mouth truthfulness.” The singular pronoun (“his”) probably refers back to the “man of bloodshed and deceit” mentioned in v. 6. The singular is collective or representative, as the plural in the next line indicates, and so has been translated “they.”

[5:9]  ³ tn Heb “their inward part[s] [is] destruction.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse.

[5:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “their throat is an open grave.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse. The metaphor is suggested by the physical resemblance of the human throat to a deeply dug grave; both are dark chasms.

[5:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “they make smooth their tongue.” Flattering, deceitful words are in view. See Ps 12:2. The psalmist’s deceitful enemies are compared to the realm of death/Sheol in v. 9b. Sheol was envisioned as a dark region within the earth, the entrance to which was the grave with its steep slopes (cf. Ps 88:4-6). The enemies’ victims are pictured here as slipping down a steep slope (the enemies’ tongues) and falling into an open grave (their throat) that terminates in destruction in the inner recesses of Sheol (their stomach). The enemies’ קרב (“inward part”) refers here to their thoughts and motives, which are destructive in their intent. The throat is where these destructive thoughts are transformed into words, and their tongue is what they use to speak the deceitful words that lead their innocent victims to their demise.

[5:9]  sn As the psalmist walks down the path in which God leads him, he asks the Lord to guide his steps and remove danger from the path (v. 8), because he knows his enemies have “dug a grave” for him and are ready to use their deceitful words to “swallow him up” like the realm of death (i.e., Sheol) and bring him to ruin.

[28:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.

[28:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[28:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”

[28:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”

[28:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[28:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[38:12]  ¹² tn Heb “lay snares.”

[51:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.

[51:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).

[54:3]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “rise against me.”

[54:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”

[56:13]  ¹⁸ tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the Lord intervened on the psalmist’s behalf. In this case one may translate, “for you have delivered.” Other options include taking the perfect as (3) generalizing (“for you deliver”) or (4) rhetorical (“for you will”).

[56:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.

[56:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.

[56:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.

[62:3]  ²² tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”

[62:3]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.

[62:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).

[70:2]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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.

[78:50]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.

[78:50]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”

[143:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ³² tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.