Psalms 10:13

10:13 Why does the wicked man reject God? ¹ 

He says to himself, ²  “You ³  will not hold me accountable.” ⁴ 

Psalms 58:11

58:11 Then ⁵  observers ⁶  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ⁷ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ⁸  in the earth!”

Psalms 68:1

Psalm 68 ⁹ 

For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.

68:1 God springs into action! ¹⁰ 

His enemies scatter;

his adversaries ¹¹  run from him. ¹² 

Psalms 75:9

75:9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done; ¹³ 

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob!

Psalms 94:23

94:23 He will pay them back for their sin. ¹⁴ 

He will destroy them because of ¹⁵  their evil;

the Lord our God will destroy them.

[10:13]  ¹ tn The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s outrage that the wicked would have the audacity to disdain God.

[10:13]  ² tn Heb “he says in his heart” (see vv. 6, 11). Another option is to understand an ellipsis of the interrogative particle here (cf. the preceding line), “Why does he say in his heart?”

[10:13]  ³ tn Here the wicked man addresses God directly.

[10:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “you will not seek.” The verb דָרַשׁ (darash, “seek”) is used here in the sense of “seek an accounting.” One could understand the imperfect as generalizing about what is typical and translate, “you do not hold [people] accountable.”

[58:11]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ⁸ 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.

[68:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.

[68:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.

[68:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those who hate him.”

[68:1]  ¹² sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord! Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run from you.”

[75:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will declare forever.” The object needs to be supplied; God’s just judgment is in view.

[94:23]  ¹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive is used in a rhetorical sense, describing an anticipated development as if it were already reality.

[94:23]  ¹⁸ tn Or “in.”