17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, 1
from the murderers of this world! 2
They enjoy prosperity; 3
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. 4
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring. 5
17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; 6
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. 7
26:8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live, 8
the place where your splendor is revealed. 9
26:9 Do not sweep me away 10 with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people, 11
26:10 who are always ready to do wrong 12
or offer a bribe. 13
141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, 14
or participate in sinful activities
with men who behave wickedly. 15
I will not eat their delicacies. 16
141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!
May my head not refuse 17 choice oil! 18
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. 19
1 tc Heb “from men [by] your hand,
2 tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”
3 tn Heb “their portion, in life.”
4 tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”
5 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”
6 tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”
7 tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.
8 tn Heb “the dwelling of your house.”
9 tn Heb “the place of the abode of your splendor.”
10 tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”
11 tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
12 tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”
13 tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”
14 tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”
15 tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”
16 sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.
17 tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.
18 sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.
19 tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.