10:3 Is it good for you 1 to oppress, 2
to 3 despise the work of your hands,
while 4 you smile 5
on the schemes of the wicked?
31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants
or my female servants
when they disputed 6 with me,
22:24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering 7 of the oppressed; 8
he did not ignore him; 9
when he cried out to him, he responded. 10
138:6 Though the Lord is exalted, he takes note of the lowly,
and recognizes the proud from far away.
1 tn Or “Does it give you pleasure?” The expression could also mean, “Is it profitable for you?” or “Is it fitting for you?”
2 tn The construction uses כִּי (ki) with the imperfect verb – “that you oppress.” Technically, this clause serves as the subject, and “good” is the predicate adjective. In such cases one often uses an English infinitive to capture the point: “Is it good for you to oppress?” The LXX changes the meaning considerably: “Is it good for you if I am unrighteous, for you have disowned the work of your hands.”
3 tn Heb “that you despise.”
4 tn Now, in the second half of the verse, there is a change in the structure. The conjunction on the preposition followed by the perfect verb represents a circumstantial clause.
5 tn The Hiphil of the verb יָפַע (yafa’) means “shine.” In this context the expression “you shine upon” would mean “have a glowing expression,” be radiant, or smile.
6 tn This construction is an adverbial clause using the temporal preposition, the infinitive from רִיב (riv, “contend”), and the suffix which is the subjective genitive.
7 tn Or “affliction”; or “need.”
8 sn In this verse the psalmist refers to himself in the third person and characterizes himself as oppressed.
9 tn Heb “he did not hide his face from him.” For other uses of the idiom “hide the face” meaning “ignore,” see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9. Sometimes the idiom carries the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 27:9; 88:14).
10 tn Heb “heard.”