40:11 Scatter abroad 1 the abundance 2 of your anger.
Look at every proud man 3 and bring him low;
40:12 Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot! 4
73:18 Surely 5 you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down 6 to ruin.
147:6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks 7 the wicked to the ground.
1 tn The verb was used for scattering lightning (Job 37:11). God is challenging Job to unleash his power and judge wickedness in the world.
2 tn Heb “the overflowings.”
3 tn The word was just used in the positive sense of excellence or majesty; now the exalted nature of the person refers to self-exaltation, or pride.
4 tn The expression translated “on the spot” is the prepositional phrase תַּחְתָּם (takhtam, “under them”). “Under them” means in their place. But it can also mean “where someone stands, on the spot” (see Exod 16:29; Jos 6:5; Judg 7:21, etc.).
5 tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.
6 tn Heb “cause them to fall.”
7 tn Heb “brings down.”