Mazmur 50:16

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ¹ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ² 

Mazmur 119:71

119:71 It was good for me to suffer,

so that I might learn your statutes.

Mazmur 119:118

119:118 You despise ³  all who stray from your statutes,

for they are deceptive and unreliable. ⁴ 

Mazmur 119:145

ק (Qof)

119:145 I cried out with all my heart, “Answer me, O Lord!

I will observe your statutes.”

[50:16]  ¹ 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]  ² 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).

[119:118]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb סָלָה (salah, “to disdain”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:15. Cognate usage in Aramaic and Akkadian, as well as Lam 1:15, suggest it may have a concrete nuance of “to throw away.”

[119:118]  ⁴ tn Heb “for their deceit [is] falsehood.”