Mazmur 6:10
Konteks6:10 May all my enemies be humiliated 1 and absolutely terrified! 2
May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!
Mazmur 40:15
Konteks40:15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be humiliated 3 and disgraced! 4
Mazmur 83:17
Konteks83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! 5
May they die in shame! 6
[6:10] 1 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling judgment down on his enemies.
[6:10] 2 tn Heb “and may they be very terrified.” The psalmist uses the same expression in v. 3 to describe the terror he was experiencing. Now he asks the
[40:15] 3 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive in this imprecation.
[40:15] 4 tn Heb “May they be humiliated according to their shame, those who say to me, ‘Aha! Aha!’”
[83:17] 5 tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.
[83:17] 6 tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.
