44:14 You made us 1 an object of ridicule 2 among the nations;
foreigners treat us with contempt. 3
69:21 They put bitter poison 4 into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink. 5
83:2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;
those who hate you are hostile. 6
110:7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head. 7
119:160 Your instructions are totally reliable;
all your just regulations endure. 8
140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –
may the harm done by 9 their lips overwhelm them!
22:7 All who see me taunt 10 me;
they mock me 11 and shake their heads. 12
68:21 Indeed God strikes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion. 13
110:6 He executes judgment 14 against 15 the nations;
he fills the valleys with corpses; 16
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield. 17
137:6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy. 18
141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!
May my head not refuse 19 choice oil! 20
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. 21
1 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).
2 tn Heb “a proverb,” or “[the subject of] a mocking song.”
3 tn Heb “a shaking of the head among the peoples.” Shaking the head was a derisive gesture (see Jer 18:16; Lam 2:15).
4 tn According to BDB 912 s.v. II רֹאשׁ the term can mean “a bitter and poisonous plant.”
5 sn John 19:28-30 appears to understand Jesus’ experience on the cross as a fulfillment of this passage (or Ps 22:15). See the study note on the word “thirsty” in John 19:28.
7 tn Heb “lift up [their] head[s].” The phrase “lift up [the] head” here means “to threaten; to be hostile,” as in Judg 8:28.
10 tn Here the expression “lifts up the head” refers to the renewed physical strength and emotional vigor (see Ps 3:3) provided by the refreshing water. For another example of a victorious warrior being energized by water in the aftermath of battle, see Judg 15:18-19 (see also 1 Sam 30:11-12, where the setting is different, however).
13 tn Heb “the head of your word is truth, and forever [is] all your just regulation.” The term “head” is used here of the “sum total” of God’s instructions.
16 tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.
19 tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”
20 tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.
21 sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.
22 tn Heb “the hairy forehead of the one who walks about in his guilt.” The singular is representative.
25 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 6-7 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though they could be taken as future.
26 tn Or “among.”
27 tn Heb “he fills [with] corpses,” but one expects a double accusative here. The translation assumes an emendation to גְוִיּוֹת גֵאָיוֹת(בִּ) מִלֵּא or מִלֵּא גֵאָיוֹת גְּוִיוֹת (for a similar construction see Ezek 32:5). In the former case גֵאָיוֹת(ge’ayot) has accidentally dropped from the text due to homoioteleuton; in the latter case it has dropped out due to homoioarcton.
28 tn Heb “he strikes [the verb is מָחַץ (makhats), translated “strikes down” in v. 5] head[s] over a great land.” The Hebrew term רַבָּה (rabbah, “great”) is here used of distance or spatial measurement (see 1 Sam 26:13).
28 tn Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”
31 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.
32 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.
33 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.