Psalms 10:2

10:2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; ¹ 

the oppressed are trapped ²  by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up. ³ 

Psalms 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ⁴  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ⁵ 

Psalms 64:3-4

64:3 They ⁶  sharpen their tongues like a sword;

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, ⁷ 

64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent ⁸  in secluded places.

They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ¹⁰ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ¹¹ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ¹² 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ¹³ 

and do not pay attention to me. ¹⁴ 

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “because of the pride of [the] wicked he burns [i.e. hotly pursues] [the] oppressed.” The singular forms רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) and עָנִי (’aniy, “oppressed”) are collective and representative, as indicated in the next line, which uses plural verb forms to describe the actions of both.

[10:2]  ² tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 describe either what typically happens (from the psalmist’s perspective) or what the psalmist was experiencing at the time he offered this prayer.

[10:2]  ³ tn Heb “they are trapped in the schemes which they have thought up.” The referents of the two pronominal suffixes on the verbs have been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent of the first suffix (“they”) is taken as the oppressed, while the referent of the second (“they”) is taken to be the wicked (cf. NIV, which renders “wicked” in the previous line as a collective singular). Others take the referent of both occurrences of “they” in the line to be the wicked (cf. NRSV, “let them be caught in the schemes they have devised”).

[37:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[64:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[64:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “a bitter word.”

[64:4]  ⁸ tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.

[64:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ¹² tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).