Mazmur 31:15-20

31:15 You determine my destiny! ¹ 

Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.

31:16 Smile ²  on your servant!

Deliver me because of your faithfulness!

31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,

for I call out to you!

May evil men be humiliated!

May they go wailing to the grave! ³ 

31:18 May lying lips be silenced –

lips ⁴  that speak defiantly against the innocent ⁵ 

with arrogance and contempt!

31:19 How great is your favor, ⁶ 

which you store up for your loyal followers! ⁷ 

In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter ⁸  in you. ⁹ 

31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks ¹⁰  of men; ¹¹ 

you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. ¹² 

[31:15]  ¹ tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”

[31:16]  ² tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”

[31:17]  ³ tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”

[31:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “the [ones which].”

[31:18]  ⁵ tn Or “godly.”

[31:19]  ⁶ tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”

[31:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “for those who fear you.”

[31:19]  ⁸ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 34:21-22).

[31:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”

[31:20]  ¹⁰ tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”

[31:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.

[31:20]  ¹² tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”