Psalms 12:8

12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere, ¹ 

when people promote evil. ² 

Psalms 73:14

73:14 I suffer all day long,

and am punished every morning.”

Psalms 73:18-19

73:18 Surely ³  you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down ⁴  to ruin.

73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ⁵ 

Jeremiah 12:1

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. ⁶ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ⁷ 

Why are wicked people successful? ⁸ 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

Habakkuk 1:12

Habakkuk Voices Some Concerns

1:12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times; ⁹ 

my sovereign God, ¹⁰  you are immortal. ¹¹ 

Lord, you have made them ¹²  your instrument of judgment. ¹³ 

Protector, ¹⁴  you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. ¹⁵ 

[12:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the wicked walk all around.” One could translate v. 8a as an independent clause, in which case it would be a concluding observation in proverbial style. The present translation assumes that v. 8a is a subordinate explanatory clause, or perhaps a subordinate temporal clause (“while the wicked walk all around”). The adverb סָבִיב (saviv, “around”), in combination with the Hitpael form of the verb “walk” (which indicates repeated action), pictures the wicked as ubiquitous. They have seemingly overrun society.

[12:8]  ² tn Heb “when evil is lifted up by the sons of man.” The abstract noun זֻלּוּת (zulut, “evil”) occurs only here. On the basis of evidence from the cognate languages (see HALOT 272 s.v.), one might propose the meaning “base character,” or “morally foolish behavior.”

[73:18]  ³ tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.

[73:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “cause them to fall.”

[73:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”

[12:1]  ⁶ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).

[12:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[1:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Are you not from antiquity, O Lord?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, of course.” The present translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question, rendering it as an affirmation. When used in a temporal sense the phrase מִקֶדֶם (miqedem) means “from antiquity, ancient times,” often referring to earlier periods in Israel’s history. See its use in Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10; Mic 5:2.

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “My God, my holy one.” God’s “holiness” in this context is his sovereign transcendence as the righteous judge of the world (see vv. 12b-13a), thus the translation “My sovereign God.”

[1:12]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads, “we will not die,” but an ancient scribal tradition has “you [i.e., God] will not die.” This is preferred as a more difficult reading that can explain the rise of the other variant. Later scribes who copied the manuscripts did not want to associate the idea of death with God in any way, so they softened the statement to refer to humanity.

[1:12]  ¹² tn Heb “him,” a collective singular referring to the Babylonians. The plural pronoun “them” has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “for judgment.”

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Rock” or “Cliff.” This divine epithet views God as a place where one can go to be safe from danger. The translation “Protector” conveys the force of the metaphor (cf. KJV, NEB “O mighty God”).

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to correct, reprove.”