Mazmur 54:4-5

54:4 Look, God is my deliverer! ¹ 

The Lord is among those who support me. ² 

54:5 May those who wait to ambush me ³  be repaid for their evil! ⁴ 

As a demonstration of your faithfulness, ⁵  destroy them!

[54:4]  ¹ tn Or “my helper.”

[54:4]  ² tn Or “sustain my life.”

[54:5]  ³ tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.

[54:5]  ⁴ tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.

[54:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”