Mazmur 7:16

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ¹ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ² 

Mazmur 18:27

18:27 For you deliver oppressed ³  people,

but you bring down those who have a proud look. ⁴ 

Mazmur 72:14

72:14 From harm and violence he will defend them; ⁵ 

he will value their lives. ⁶ 

Mazmur 73:8

73:8 They mock ⁷  and say evil things; ⁸ 

they proudly threaten violence. ⁹ 

Mazmur 82:3

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ¹⁰ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

Mazmur 89:22

89:22 No enemy will be able to exact tribute ¹¹  from him; ¹² 

a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him. ¹³ 

Mazmur 94:5

94:5 O Lord, they crush your people;

they oppress the nation that belongs to you. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 119:67

119:67 Before I was afflicted I used to stray off, ¹⁵ 

but now I keep your instructions. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 119:84

119:84 How long must your servant endure this? ¹⁷ 

When will you judge those who pursue me?

Mazmur 119:121

ע (Ayin)

119:121 I do what is fair and right. ¹⁸ 

Do not abandon me to my oppressors!

Mazmur 119:134

119:134 Deliver me ¹⁹  from oppressive men,

so that I can keep ²⁰  your precepts.

Mazmur 119:161

שׂ/שׁ (Sin/Shin)

119:161 Rulers pursue me for no reason,

yet I am more afraid of disobeying your instructions. ²¹ 

Mazmur 129:1

Psalm 129 ²² 

A song of ascents. ²³ 

129:1 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”

let Israel say.

[7:16]  ¹ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ² tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[18:27]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).

[18:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”

[72:14]  ⁵ tn Or “redeem their lives.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Pss 19:14; 69:18).

[72:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “their blood will be precious in his eyes.”

[73:8]  ⁷ tn The verb מוּק (muq, “mock”) occurs only here in the OT.

[73:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and speak with evil.”

[73:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “oppression from an elevated place they speak.” The traditional accentuation of the MT places “oppression” with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate, “they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an elevated place [i.e., “proudly”] they speak.” By placing “oppression” with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in the parallelism.

[82:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[89:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “an enemy will not exact tribute.” The imperfect is understood in a modal sense, indicating capability or potential.

[89:22]  ¹² tn The translation understands the Hiphil of נָשַׁא (nasha’) in the sense of “act as a creditor.” This may allude to the practice of a conqueror forcing his subjects to pay tribute in exchange for “protection.” Another option is to take the verb from a homonymic verbal root meaning “to deceive,” “to trick.” Still another option is to emend the form to יִשָּׂא (yisa’), a Qal imperfect from נָאַשׂ (na’as, “rise up”) and to translate “an enemy will not rise up against him” (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 2:317).

[89:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “and a son of violence will not oppress him.” The imperfect is understood in a modal sense, indicating capability or potential. The reference to a “son of violence” echoes the language of God’s promise to David in 2 Sam 7:10 (see also 1 Chr 17:9).

[94:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “your inheritance.”

[119:67]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “before I suffered, I was straying off.”

[119:67]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your word.”

[119:84]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “How long are the days of your servant?”

[119:121]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “do justice and righteousness.”

[119:134]  ¹⁹ tn Or “redeem me.”

[119:134]  ²⁰ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:161]  ²¹ tn Heb “and because of your instructions my heart trembles.” The psalmist’s healthy “fear” of the consequences of violating God’s instructions motivates him to obey them. See v. 120.

[129:1]  ²² sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.

[129:1]  ²³ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.