Psalms 10:2

10:2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; ¹ 

the oppressed are trapped ²  by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up. ³ 

Psalms 83:3-4

83:3 They carefully plot ⁴  against your people,

and make plans to harm ⁵  the ones you cherish. ⁶ 

83:4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! ⁷ 

Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”

Proverbs 1:11

1:11 If they say, “Come with us!

We will ⁸  lie in wait ⁹  to shed blood; ¹⁰ 

we will ambush ¹¹  an innocent person ¹²  capriciously. ¹³ 

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “because of the pride of [the] wicked he burns [i.e. hotly pursues] [the] oppressed.” The singular forms רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) and עָנִי (’aniy, “oppressed”) are collective and representative, as indicated in the next line, which uses plural verb forms to describe the actions of both.

[10:2]  ² tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 describe either what typically happens (from the psalmist’s perspective) or what the psalmist was experiencing at the time he offered this prayer.

[10:2]  ³ tn Heb “they are trapped in the schemes which they have thought up.” The referents of the two pronominal suffixes on the verbs have been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent of the first suffix (“they”) is taken as the oppressed, while the referent of the second (“they”) is taken to be the wicked (cf. NIV, which renders “wicked” in the previous line as a collective singular). Others take the referent of both occurrences of “they” in the line to be the wicked (cf. NRSV, “let them be caught in the schemes they have devised”).

[83:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”

[83:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and consult together against.”

[83:3]  ⁶ tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”

[83:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “we will cause them to disappear from [being] a nation.”

[1:11]  ⁸ tn This cohortative נֶאֶרְבָה (ne’ervah) could denote resolve (“We will lie in wait!”) or exhortation (“Let us lie in wait!”). These sinners are either expressing their determination to carry out a violent plan or they are trying to entice the lad to participate with them.

[1:11]  ⁹ tn The verb אָרַב (’arav, “to lie in wait”) it is used for planning murder (Deut 19:11), kidnapping (Judg 21:20), or seduction (Prov 23:28).

[1:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for blood.” The term דָּם (dam, “blood”) functions as a metonymy of effect for “blood shed violently” through murder (HALOT 224 s.v. 4).

[1:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lie in hiding.”

[1:11]  ¹² tn The term “innocent” (נָקִי, naqi) intimates that the person to be attacked is harmless.

[1:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “without cause” (so KJV, NASB); NCV “just for fun.” The term חִנָּם (khinnam, “without cause”) emphasizes that the planned attack is completely unwarranted.