Mazmur 81:12-15
Konteks81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; 1
they did what seemed right to them. 2
81:13 If only my people would obey me! 3
If only Israel would keep my commands! 4
81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and attack 5 their adversaries.”
81:15 (May those who hate the Lord 6 cower in fear 7 before him!
May they be permanently humiliated!) 8
[81:12] 1 tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”
[81:12] 2 tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).
[81:13] 3 tn Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).
[81:13] 4 tn Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”
[81:14] 5 tn Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).
[81:15] 6 tn “Those who hate the
[81:15] 7 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.
[81:15] 8 tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the
[81:15] tn The verb form at the beginning of the line is jussive, indicating that this is a prayer. The translation assumes that v. 15 is a parenthetical “curse” offered by the psalmist. Having heard the reference to Israel’s enemies (v. 14), the psalmist inserts this prayer, reminding the Lord that they are God’s enemies as well.
