Psalms 10:17

10:17 Lord, you have heard ¹  the request ²  of the oppressed;

you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. ³ 

Psalms 38:19

38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; ⁴ 

those who hate me without cause outnumber me. ⁵ 

Psalms 45:17

45:17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years, ⁶ 

then the nations will praise you ⁷  forever.

Psalms 56:5

56:5 All day long they cause me trouble; ⁸ 

they make a habit of plotting my demise. ⁹ 

Psalms 71:2

71:2 Vindicate me by rescuing me! ¹⁰ 

Listen to me! ¹¹  Deliver me! ¹² 

Psalms 82:3

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ¹³ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

Psalms 88:18

88:18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance; ¹⁴ 

those who know me leave me alone in the darkness. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 107:40

107:40 He would pour ¹⁶  contempt upon princes,

and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.

Psalms 119:78

119:78 May the arrogant be humiliated, for they have slandered me! ¹⁷ 

But I meditate on your precepts.

Psalms 147:18

147:18 He then orders it all to melt; ¹⁸ 

he breathes on it, ¹⁹  and the water flows.

[10:17]  ¹ sn You have heard. The psalmist is confident that God has responded positively to his earlier petitions for divine intervention. The psalmist apparently prayed the words of vv. 16-18 after the reception of an oracle of deliverance (given in response to the confident petition of vv. 12-15) or after the Lord actually delivered him from his enemies.

[10:17]  ² tn Heb “desire.”

[10:17]  ³ tn Heb “you make firm their heart, you cause your ear to listen.”

[38:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).

[38:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “are many.”

[45:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will cause your name to be remembered in every generation and generation.” The cohortative verbal form expresses the poet’s resolve. The king’s “name” stands here for his reputation and character, which the poet praised in vv. 2-7.

[45:17]  ⁸ sn The nations will praise you. As God’s vice-regent on earth, the king is deserving of such honor and praise.

[56:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my affairs they disturb.” For other instances of דָּבָר (davar) meaning “affairs, business,” see BDB 183 s.v.. The Piel of עָצַב (’atsav, “to hurt”) occurs only here and in Isa 63:10, where it is used of “grieving” (or “offending”) the Lord’s holy Spirit. Here in Ps 56:5, the verb seems to carry the nuance “disturb, upset,” in the sense of “cause trouble.”

[56:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”

[71:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me and deliver me.” Ps 31:1 omits “and deliver me.”

[71:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[71:2]  ¹⁵ tn Ps 31:2 adds “quickly” before “deliver.”

[82:3]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[88:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you cause to be far from me friend and neighbor.”

[88:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “those known by me, darkness.”

[107:40]  ²² tn The active participle is understood as past durative here, drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame. However, it could be taken as generalizing (in which case one should translate using the English present tense), in which case the psalmist moves from narrative to present reality. Perhaps the participial form appears because the statement is lifted from Job 12:21.

[119:78]  ²⁵ tn Heb “for [with] falsehood they have denied me justice.”

[147:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he sends his word and melts them.”

[147:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he blows his breath.”