translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PSA

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”


text: Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”


text: Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”


text: Heb “and I, prayer.”


text: Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”


text: Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”


text: The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).


text: The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6 .


text: Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).


text: The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ ו ] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19 .


text: The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה ( pÿquddah ) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.


text: Or “sons.”


text: Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ ( vÿdoreshu , “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ ( yÿgoreshu ; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5 ; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ ( darash ) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ ( shi ’ elu , “and beg”) in the preceding line.


text: Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12 ).


text: Heb “the product of his labor.”


text: Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”


text: Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21 ).


text: Or “offspring.”


text: Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”


text: Or “fathers’ sins.”


text: Heb “not be wiped out.” sn According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with .)


text: Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14 ] be before the Lord continually.”


text: Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13 , and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.


text: Heb “he did not remember to do loyal love.”


text: Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”


text: Heb “and he loved a curse and it came [upon] him.” A reference to the evil man experiencing a curse seems premature here, for the psalmist is asking God to bring judgment on his enemies. For this reason some (cf. NIV, NRSV) prefer to repoint the vav ( ו ) on “it came” as conjunctive and translate the verb as a jussive of prayer (“may it come upon him!”). The prefixed form with vav consecutive in the next line is emended in the same way and translated, “may it be far from him.” However, the psalmist may be indicating that the evil man’s lifestyle has already begun to yield its destructive fruit.


text: Heb “and he did not delight in a blessing and it is far from him.”


text: Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”


text: Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav ( ו ) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”


text: Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”


text: The Hebrew noun מֵזַח ( mezakh , “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.


text: Heb “[may] this [be] the repayment to my accusers from the Lord .”


text: Or “against.”


text: The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ ( nefesh , “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).


text: Heb “but you, Lord , Master, do with me for the sake of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.


label: NET textual note

text: The verb in the Hebrew text ( חָלַל , khalal ) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל ( yakhil ), a Qal imperfect from חוּל ( khul , “tremble”) or to חֹלַל ( kholal ), a polal perfect from חוּל ( khul ). See Ps 55:4 , which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי ( libbiy yakhil bÿqirbbiy , “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).


text: Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11 .


text: Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”


text: Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”


text: Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”


text: Heb “deliver me according to your faithfulness.”


text: After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav ( ו ) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.


text: Heb “that your hand [is] this.”


text: Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).


text: The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav ( ו ) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ ( qamu yevoshu , “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.


text: Heb “clothed.” Another option is to translate the prefixed verbal forms in this line and the next as jussives (“may my accusers be covered with shame”).


text: Heb “I will thank the Lord very much with my mouth.”


text: Heb “many.”


text: Heb “judge.”