Psalms 27:12

27:12 Do not turn me over to my enemies, ¹ 

for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me. ² 

Psalms 37:32-33

37:32 Evil men set an ambush for the godly

and try to kill them. ³ 

37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,

or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. ⁴ 

Psalms 140:8-9

140:8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way! ⁵ 

Do not allow their ⁶  plan to succeed when they attack! ⁷  (Selah)

140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –

may the harm done by ⁸  their lips overwhelm them!

¹ tn Heb “do not give me over to the desire of my enemies.”

² tn Heb “for they have risen up against me, lying witnesses and a testifier of violence.” The form יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) is traditionally understood as a verb meaning “snort, breathe out”: “for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty” (KJV; cf. BDB 422 s.v.). A better option is to take the form as a noun meaning “a witness” (or “testifier”). See Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3.

³ tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.

⁴ tn Heb “the Lord does not abandon him into his hand or condemn him when he is judged.” The imperfects draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic behavior in this regard.

⁵ tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”

⁶ tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).

⁷ tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).

⁸ tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.