59:8 But you, O Lord, laugh in disgust at them; 1
you taunt 2 all the nations.
59:9 You are my source of strength! I will wait for you! 3
For God is my refuge. 4
59:10 The God who loves me will help me; 5
God will enable me to triumph over 6 my enemies. 7
59:11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson. 8
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us! 9
59:12 They speak sinful words. 10
So let them be trapped by their own pride
and by the curses and lies they speak!
59:13 Angrily wipe them out! Wipe them out so they vanish!
Let them know that God rules
in Jacob and to the ends of the earth! (Selah)
59:14 They return in the evening;
they growl 11 like a dog
and prowl around outside 12 the city.
59:15 They wander around looking for something to eat;
they refuse to sleep until they are full. 13
59:16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;
I will praise your loyal love in the morning.
For you are my refuge 14
and my place of shelter when I face trouble. 15
59:17 You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you! 16
For God is my refuge, 17 the God who loves me. 18
1 sn Laugh in disgust. See Pss 2:4; 37:13.
2 tn Or “scoff at”; or “deride”; or “mock” (see Ps 2:4).
3 tc Heb “his strength, for you I will watch.” “His strength” should be emended to “my strength” (see v. 17). Some also emend אֶשְׁמֹרָה (’eshmorah, “I will watch”) to אֱזַמֵּרָה (’ezammerah, “I will sing praises [to you]”) See v. 17.
4 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
5 tn Heb “the God of my [Qere (marginal reading); the Kethib (consonantal text) has “his”] loyal love will meet me.”
6 tn Heb “will cause me to look upon.”
7 tn Heb “those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 56:2.
8 tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”
9 tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”
10 tn Heb “the sin of their mouth [is] the word of their lips.”
11 tn Or “howl”; or “bark.”
12 tn Heb “go around.”
13 tn Heb “if they are not full, they stay through the night.”
14 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
15 tn Heb “and my shelter in the day of my distress.”
16 tn Heb “my strength, to you I will sing praises.”
17 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
18 tn Heb “the God of my loyal love.”