55:23 But you, O God, will bring them 1 down to the deep Pit. 2
Violent and deceitful people 3 will not live even half a normal lifespan. 4
But as for me, I trust in you.
30:13 So this sin will become your downfall.
You will be like a high wall
that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse;
it crumbles suddenly, in a flash. 5
30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 6
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 7
2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so 8 he can teach us his requirements, 9
and 10 we can follow his standards.” 11
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; 12
the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. 13
1 tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).
2 tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).
3 tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”
4 tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”
5 tn The verse reads literally, “So this sin will become for you like a breach ready to fall, bulging on a high wall, the breaking of which comes suddenly, in a flash.” Their sin produces guilt and will result in judgment. Like a wall that collapses their fall will be swift and sudden.
6 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
7 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
8 tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).
9 tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.
10 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.
11 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
12 tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”
13 tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”