Psalms 37:14-15

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ¹  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ² 

37:15 Their swords will pierce ³  their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

Psalms 68:3

68:3 But the godly ⁴  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ⁵ 

Psalms 137:8

137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! ⁶ 

How blessed will be the one who repays you

for what you dished out to us! ⁷ 

Psalms 146:6-9

146:6 the one who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who remains forever faithful, ⁸ 

146:7 vindicates the oppressed, ⁹ 

and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord releases the imprisoned.

146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.

The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. ¹⁰ 

The Lord loves the godly.

146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;

he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, ¹¹ 

but he opposes the wicked. ¹² 

Ezekiel 39:10

39:10 They will not need to take ¹³  wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, ¹⁴  declares the sovereign Lord.

¹ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

² tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

³ tn Heb “enter into.”

⁴ tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

⁵ tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

⁶ tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.

⁷ tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”

⁸ tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”

⁹ tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”

¹⁰ tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).

¹¹ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.

¹² tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.

¹³ tn Heb “they will not carry.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”