Psalms 35:26-27

35:26 May those who want to harm me be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ¹ 

May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation! ² 

35:27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice!

May they continually say, ³  “May the Lord be praised, ⁴  for he wants his servant to be secure.” ⁵ 

Psalms 58:10-11

58:10 The godly ⁶  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

58:11 Then ⁷  observers ⁸  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ⁹ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ¹⁰  in the earth!”

Psalms 83:17-18

83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! ¹¹ 

May they die in shame! ¹² 

83:18 Then they will know ¹³  that you alone are the Lord, ¹⁴ 

the sovereign king ¹⁵  over all the earth.

Ezekiel 38:16

38:16 You will advance ¹⁶  against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself ¹⁷  through you, O Gog.

Ezekiel 38:23

38:23 I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

Ezekiel 39:21-22

39:21 “I will display my majesty ¹⁸  among the nations. All the nations will witness the judgment I have executed, and the power I have exhibited ¹⁹  among them. 39:22 Then the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward.

[35:26]  ¹ tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones who rejoice over my harm.”

[35:26]  ² tn Heb “may they be clothed with shame and humiliation, the ones who magnify [themselves] against me.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 26 are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-25, where the negative particle אַל (’al) appears before the prefixed verbal forms, indicating they are jussives). The psalmist is calling down judgment on his enemies.

[35:27]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27a are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-26).

[35:27]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great.”

[35:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one who desires the peace of his servant.”

[58:10]  ⁶ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[58:11]  ⁷ tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

[58:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ¹⁰ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.

[83:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.

[83:17]  ¹² tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.

[83:18]  ¹³ tn After the preceding jussives (v. 17), the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose (“so that they may know”) or result.

[83:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the Lord, you alone.”

[83:18]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[38:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “come up.”

[38:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “reveal my holiness.”

[39:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or “my glory.”

[39:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “my hand which I have placed.”