1 Kings 2:5-6

2:5 “You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. ¹  During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; ²  when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. ³  2:6 Do to him what you think is appropriate, ⁴  but don’t let him live long and die a peaceful death. ⁵ 

1 Kings 2:33-34

2:33 May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family, ⁶  and his dynasty.” ⁷  2:34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab; ⁸  he was buried at his home in the wilderness.

Psalms 7:16

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ⁹ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 28:4

28:4 Pay them back for their evil deeds!

Pay them back for what they do!

Punish them! ¹¹ 

Psalms 62:12

62:12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. ¹² 

For you repay men for what they do. ¹³ 

Psalms 62:2

62:2 He alone is my protector ¹⁴  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ¹⁵  I will not be upended. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 4:1

Psalm 4 ¹⁷ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4:1 When I call out, answer me,

O God who vindicates me! ¹⁸ 

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. ¹⁹ 

Have mercy on me ²⁰  and respond to ²¹  my prayer!

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “what he did to the two commanders…and he killed them.”

[2:5]  ² tn Heb “he shed the blood of battle in peace.”

[2:5]  ³ tn Heb “and he shed the blood of battle when he killed which is on his waist and on his sandal[s] which are on his feet.” That is, he covered himself with guilt and his guilt was obvious to all who saw him.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “according to your wisdom.”

[2:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “and do not bring down his grey hair in peace [to] Sheol.”

[2:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[2:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “his throne.”

[2:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “struck him and killed him.” The referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[28:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Give to them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds. According to the work of their hands give to them. Return their due to them.” The highly repetitive style reflects the psalmist’s agitated emotional state and draws attention to his yearning for justice.

[62:12]  ¹² tn Heb “and to you, O Master, [is] loyal love.”

[62:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “for you pay back to a man according to his deed.” Another option is to understand vv. 11b and 12a as the first principle and v. 12b as the second. In this case one might translate, “God has declared one principle, two principles I have heard, namely, that God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love, and that you repay men for what they do.”

[62:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[4:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.

[4:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”

[4:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[4:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “show me favor.”

[4:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “hear.”