Psalms 10:10

10:10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they are trapped in his sturdy nets. ¹ 

Psalms 37:2

37:2 For they will quickly dry up like grass,

and wither away like plants. ² 

Psalms 72:9

72:9 Before him the coastlands ³  will bow down,

and his enemies will lick the dust. ⁴ 

Psalms 119:136

119:136 Tears stream down from my eyes, ⁵ 

because people ⁶  do not keep your law.

Psalms 135:8

135:8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

including both men and animals.

Psalms 147:17

147:17 He throws his hailstones ⁷  like crumbs.

Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? ⁸ 

[10:10]  ¹ tn Heb “he crushes, he is bowed down, and he falls into his strong [ones], [the] unfortunate [ones].” This verse presents several lexical and syntactical difficulties. The first word (יִדְכֶּה, yidekeh) is an otherwise unattested Qal form of the verb דָּכָה (dakhah, “crush”). (The Qere [marginal] form is imperfect; the consonantal text [Kethib] has the perfect with a prefixed conjunction vav [ו].) If the wicked man’s victim is the subject, which seems to be the case (note the two verbs which follow), then the form should be emended to a Niphal (יִדָּכֶה, yiddakheh). The phrase בַּעֲצוּמָיו (ba’atsumayv, “into his strong [ones]”), poses interpretive problems. The preposition -בְּ (bet) follows the verb נָפַל (nafal, “fall”), so it may very well carry the nuance “into” here, with “his strong [ones]” then referring to something into which the oppressed individual falls. Since a net is mentioned in the preceding verse as the instrument used to entrap the victim, it is possible that “strong [ones]” here refers metonymically to the wicked man’s nets or traps. Ps 35:8 refers to a man falling into a net (רֶשֶׁת, reshet), as does Ps 141:10 (where the plural of מִכְמָר [mikhmar, “net”] is used). A hunter’s net (רֶשֶׁת), is associated with snares (פַּח [pakh], מֹקְשִׁים, [moqÿshim]) and ropes (חֲבָלִים, khavalim) in Ps 140:5. The final word in the verse (חֶלְכָּאִים (khelka’im, “unfortunate [ones]”) may be an alternate form of חֵלְכָח (khelkhakh, “unfortunate [one]”; see vv. 8, 14). The Qere (marginal reading) divides the form into two words, חֵיל כָּאִים (khel ka’im, “army/host of disheartened [ones]”). The three verb forms in v. 10 are singular because the representative “oppressed” individual is the grammatical subject (see the singular עָנִי [’aniy] in v. 9).

[37:2]  ² tn Heb “like green vegetation.”

[72:9]  ³ tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.

[72:9]  ⁴ sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.

[119:136]  ⁴ tn Heb “[with] flowing streams my eyes go down.”

[119:136]  ⁵ tn Heb “they”; even though somewhat generic, the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[147:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “his ice.”

[147:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”