Psalms 9:16

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ¹  (Higgaion. ²  Selah)

Psalms 83:17-18

83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! ³ 

May they die in shame! ⁴ 

83:18 Then they will know ⁵  that you alone are the Lord, ⁶ 

the sovereign king ⁷  over all the earth.

Ezekiel 25:17

25:17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes. ⁸  Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”

[9:16]  ¹ tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

[9:16]  ² tn This is probably a technical musical term.

[83:17]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the Lord, you alone.”

[83:18]  ⁷ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[25:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”