10:10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets. 1
48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, 2
like a woman writhing in childbirth. 3
18:32 The one true God 4 gives 5 me strength; 6
he removes 7 the obstacles in my way. 8
18:39 You give me strength 9 for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me. 10
60:12 By God’s power we will conquer; 11
he will trample down 12 our enemies.
73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, 13
those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. 14
108:13 By God’s power we will conquer; 15
he will trample down 16 our enemies.
118:16 the Lord’s right hand gives victory, 17
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
76:5 The bravehearted 18 were plundered; 19
they “fell asleep.” 20
All the warriors were helpless. 21
84:7 They are sustained as they travel along; 22
each one appears 23 before God in Zion.
118:15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. 24
The Lord’s right hand conquers, 25
62:10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! 26
Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! 27
If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! 28
1 tn Heb “he crushes, he is bowed down, and he falls into his strong [ones], [the] unfortunate [ones].” This verse presents several lexical and syntactical difficulties. The first word (יִדְכֶּה, yidekeh) is an otherwise unattested Qal form of the verb דָּכָה (dakhah, “crush”). (The Qere [marginal] form is imperfect; the consonantal text [Kethib] has the perfect with a prefixed conjunction vav [ו].) If the wicked man’s victim is the subject, which seems to be the case (note the two verbs which follow), then the form should be emended to a Niphal (יִדָּכֶה, yiddakheh). The phrase בַּעֲצוּמָיו (ba’atsumayv, “into his strong [ones]”), poses interpretive problems. The preposition -בְּ (bet) follows the verb נָפַל (nafal, “fall”), so it may very well carry the nuance “into” here, with “his strong [ones]” then referring to something into which the oppressed individual falls. Since a net is mentioned in the preceding verse as the instrument used to entrap the victim, it is possible that “strong [ones]” here refers metonymically to the wicked man’s nets or traps. Ps 35:8 refers to a man falling into a net (רֶשֶׁת, reshet), as does Ps 141:10 (where the plural of מִכְמָר [mikhmar, “net”] is used). A hunter’s net (רֶשֶׁת), is associated with snares (פַּח [pakh], מֹקְשִׁים, [moqÿshim]) and ropes (חֲבָלִים, khavalim) in Ps 140:5. The final word in the verse (חֶלְכָּאִים (khelka’im, “unfortunate [ones]”) may be an alternate form of חֵלְכָח (khelkhakh, “unfortunate [one]”; see vv. 8, 14). The Qere (marginal reading) divides the form into two words, חֵיל כָּאִים (khel ka’im, “army/host of disheartened [ones]”). The three verb forms in v. 10 are singular because the representative “oppressed” individual is the grammatical subject (see the singular עָנִי [’aniy] in v. 9).
2 tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).
3 tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”
3 tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the
4 tn Heb “is the one who clothes.” For similar language see 1 Sam 2:4; Pss 65:6; 93:1. The psalmist employs a generalizing hymnic style in vv. 32-34; he uses participles in vv. 32a, 33a, and 34a to describe what God characteristically does on his behalf.
5 tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”
6 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.
7 tn Heb “he made my path smooth.” The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).
4 tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.
5 tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”
5 tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 108:13; 118:15-16).
6 sn Trample down. On this expression see Ps 44:5.
6 tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”
7 tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”
7 tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 118:16-16).
8 sn On the expression trample down our enemies see Ps 44:5.
8 tn Heb “exalts.”
9 tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).
10 tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).
11 tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”
12 tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”
10 tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.
11 tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one” ) sense.
11 tn Heb “the sound of a ringing shout and deliverance [is] in the tents of the godly.”
12 tn Heb “does valiantly.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 108:13).
12 tn Heb “do not trust in oppression.” Here “oppression” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by oppressive measures, as the final line of the verse indicates.
13 tn Heb “and in robbery do not place vain hope.” Here “robbery” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by theft, as the next line of the verse indicates.
14 tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”