Psalms 1:6

1:6 Certainly ¹  the Lord guards the way of the godly, ² 

but the way of the wicked ends in destruction. ³ 

Psalms 21:10

21:10 You destroy their offspring ⁴  from the earth,

their descendants ⁵  from among the human race. ⁶ 

Psalms 5:6

5:6 You destroy ⁷  liars; ⁸ 

the Lord despises ⁹  violent and deceitful people. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 9:18

9:18 for the needy are not permanently ignored, ¹¹ 

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. ¹² 

Psalms 112:10

112:10 When the wicked ¹³  see this, they will worry;

they will grind their teeth in frustration ¹⁴  and melt away;

the desire of the wicked will perish. ¹⁵ 

[1:6]  ¹ tn The translation understands כי as asseverative. Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 6 as a theological explanation for vv. 3-5, which contrasts the respective destinies of the godly and the wicked.

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “the Lord knows the way of the righteous.” To “know a way” means, in its most basic sense, “to recognize/acknowledge a pathway, route, or prescribed way of life” (see Josh 3:4; Job 21:14; Ps 67:2; Isa 42:16; Jer 5:4-5). Here it could refer to the Lord recognizing the behavior of the godly and, by metonymy, rewarding their godliness with security and prosperity (resulting in the translation, “the Lord rewards the behavior of the godly”). The present translation takes the verb in the sense of “mark out” (cf. Job 23:10), which metonymically could mean “watch over, protect, guard.” In this case the “way of the godly” is not their behavior, but their course of life or destiny; a translation reflecting this would be “the Lord protects the lives of the godly” or “the Lord watches over the destiny of the godly” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The Hebrew active participle יוֹדֵעַ (yodea’, “knows”) has here a characteristic durative force.

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “but the way of the wicked perishes.” The “way of the wicked” may refer to their course of life (Ps 146:9; Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1) or their sinful behavior (Prov 12:26; 15:9). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form probably describes here what typically happens, though one could take the form as indicating what will happen (“will perish”).

[21:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.

[21:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “seed.”

[21:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[5:6]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates God’s typical response to such individuals. Another option is to translate the verb as future (“You will destroy”); the psalmist may be envisioning a time of judgment when God will remove the wicked from the scene.

[5:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “those who speak a lie.” In the OT a “lie” does not refer in a general philosophical sense to any statement that fails to correspond to reality. Instead it refers more specifically to a slanderous and/or deceitful statement that promotes one’s own selfish, sinful interests and/or exploits or harms those who are innocent. Note the emphasis on violence and deceit in the following line.

[5:6]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form highlights the Lord’s characteristic attitude toward such individuals.

[5:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a man of bloodshed and deceit.” The singular אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is used here in a collective or representative sense; thus the translation “people” is appropriate here. Note the plural forms in vv. 5-6a.

[9:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “forgotten.”

[9:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the hope of the afflicted does [not] perish forever.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The imperfect verbal forms express what typically happens.

[112:10]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text uses the singular; the representative wicked individual is in view as typifying the group (note the use of the plural form in v. 10).

[112:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his teeth he will gnash.” In Pss 35:16 and 37:12 this action is associated with a vicious attack.

[112:10]  ¹⁵ tn This could mean that the desires of the wicked will go unfulfilled. Another possibility is that “desire” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired. In this case the point is that the wicked will lose what they desired so badly and acquired by evil means (see Ps 10:3).