Psalms 10:6

10:6 He says to himself, ¹ 

“I will never ²  be upended,

because I experience no calamity.” ³ 

Psalms 13:4

13:4 Then ⁴  my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”

Then ⁵  my foes will rejoice because I am upended.

Psalms 21:7

21:7 For the king trusts ⁶  in the Lord,

and because of the sovereign Lord’s ⁷  faithfulness he is not upended. ⁸ 

Psalms 38:16

38:16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; ⁹ 

when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 46:2

46:2 For this reason we do not fear ¹¹  when the earth shakes, ¹² 

and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, ¹³ 

Psalms 46:5-6

46:5 God lives within it, ¹⁴  it cannot be moved. ¹⁵ 

God rescues it ¹⁶  at the break of dawn. ¹⁷ 

46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown. ¹⁸ 

God ¹⁹  gives a shout, ²⁰  the earth dissolves. ²¹ 

Psalms 55:3

55:3 because of what the enemy says, ²² 

and because of how the wicked ²³  pressure me, ²⁴ 

for they hurl trouble ²⁵  down upon me ²⁶ 

and angrily attack me.

Psalms 55:22

55:22 Throw your burden ²⁷  upon the Lord,

and he will sustain you. ²⁸ 

He will never allow the godly to be upended. ²⁹ 

Psalms 62:2

62:2 He alone is my protector ³⁰  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ³¹  I will not be upended. ³² 

Psalms 82:5

82:5 They ³³  neither know nor understand.

They stumble ³⁴  around in the dark,

while all the foundations of the earth crumble. ³⁵ 

Psalms 96:10

96:10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

The world is established, it cannot be moved.

He judges the nations fairly.”

Psalms 125:1

Psalm 125 ³⁶ 

A song of ascents. ³⁷ 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

Psalms 140:10

140:10 May he rain down ³⁸  fiery coals upon them!

May he throw them into the fire!

From bottomless pits they will not escape. ³⁹ 

[10:6]  ¹ tn Heb “he says in his heart/mind.”

[10:6]  ² tn Heb “for a generation and a generation.” The traditional accentuation of the MT understands these words with the following line.

[10:6]  ³ tn Heb “who, not in calamity.” If אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is taken as a relative pronoun here, then one could translate, “[I] who [am] not in calamity.” Some emend אֲשֶׁר to אֹשֶׁר (’osher, “happiness”; see HALOT 99 s.v. אֹשֶׁר); one might then translate, “[I live in] happiness, not in calamity.” The present translation assumes that אֲשֶׁר functions here as a causal conjunction, “because, for.” For this use of אֲשֶׁר, see BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.c (where the present text is not cited).

[13:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “or else.”

[13:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “or else.”

[21:7]  ⁷ tn The active participle draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action.

[21:7]  ⁸ tn Traditionally “the Most High’s.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. Note the focus of vv. 8-12 and see Ps 47:2.

[21:7]  ⁹ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “he will not be upended” (cf. NRSV “he shall not be moved”). Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense.

[38:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1).

[38:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13.

[46:2]  ¹³ tn The imperfect is taken in a generalizing sense (cf. NEB) because the situation described in vv. 2-3 is understood as symbolizing typical world conditions. In this case the imperfect draws attention to the typical nature of the response. The covenant community characteristically responds with confidence, not fear. Another option is to take the situation described as purely hypothetical. In this case one might translate, “We will not fear, even though the earth should shake” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[46:2]  ¹⁴ tn The Hiphil infinitival form is normally taken to mean “when [the earth] is altered,” being derived from מוּר (mur, “to change”). In this case the Hiphil would be intransitive, as in Ps 15:4. HALOT 560 s.v. II מור emends the form to a Niphal and derives it from a homonymic root מוּר attested in Arabic with the meaning “shake.”

[46:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “heart of the seas.” The plural may be used for emphasis, pointing to the deepest sea. Note that the next verse uses a singular pronoun (“its waters,” “its swelling”) in referring back to the plural noun.

[46:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “God [is] within her.” The feminine singular pronoun refers to the city mentioned in v. 4.

[46:5]  ¹⁷ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “it will not be upended.” Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense. The verb מוֹט (mot), translated “upended” here, is used in v. 2 of the mountains “tumbling” into the seas and in v. 6 of nations being “upended.” By way of contrast, Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, is secure and immune from such turmoil and destruction.

[46:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “helps her.” The imperfect draws attention to the generalizing character of the statement.

[46:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “at the turning of morning.” (For other uses of the expression see Exod 14:27 and Judg 19:26).

[46:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “nations roar, kingdoms shake.” The Hebrew verb הָמָה (hamah, “roar, be in uproar”) is used in v. 3 of the waves crashing, while the verb מוֹט (mot, “overthrown”) is used in v. 2 of mountains tumbling into the sea (see also v. 5, where the psalm affirms that Jerusalem “cannot be moved”). The repetition of the verbs suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

[46:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “He.” God is the obvious referent here (see v. 5), and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[46:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “offers his voice.” In theophanic texts the phrase refers to God’s thunderous shout which functions as a battle cry (see Pss 18:13; 68:33).

[46:6]  ²² tn Or “melts.” See Amos 9:5. The image depicts the nation’s helplessness before Jerusalem’s defender, who annihilates their armies (see vv. 8-9). The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the characteristic nature of the action described.

[55:3]  ²² tn Heb “because of [the] voice of [the] enemy.”

[55:3]  ²³ tn The singular forms “enemy” and “wicked” are collective or representative, as the plural verb forms in the second half of the verse indicate.

[55:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “from before the pressure of the wicked.” Some suggest the meaning “screech” (note the parallel “voice”; cf. NEB “shrill clamour”; NRSV “clamor”) for the rare noun עָקָה (’aqah, “pressure”).

[55:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “wickedness,” but here the term refers to the destructive effects of their wicked acts.

[55:3]  ²⁶ tc The verb form in the MT appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוֹט (mot, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in the Kethib (consonantal text) of Ps 140:10, where the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read. Here in Ps 55:3 it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). It is odd for “rain down” to be used with an abstract object like “wickedness,” but in Job 20:23 God “rains down” anger (unless one emends the text there; see BHS).

[55:22]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

[55:22]  ²⁶ tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.

[55:22]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”

[62:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ²⁹ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[82:5]  ³¹ sn Having addressed the defendants, God now speaks to those who are observing the trial, referring to the gods in the third person.

[82:5]  ³² tn Heb “walk.” The Hitpael stem indicates iterative action, picturing these ignorant “judges” as stumbling around in the darkness.

[82:5]  ³³ sn These gods, though responsible for justice, neglect their duty. Their self-imposed ignorance (which the psalmist compares to stumbling around in the dark) results in widespread injustice, which threatens the social order of the world (the meaning of the phrase all the foundations of the earth crumble).

[125:1]  ³⁴ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ³⁵ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[140:10]  ³⁷ tn The verb form in the Kethib (consonantal Hebrew text) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוּט (mut, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in Ps 55:3, where it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). In Ps 140:10 the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read.

[140:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “into bottomless pits, they will not arise.” The translation assumes that the preposition -בְּ (bet) has the nuance “from” here. Another option is to connect the line with what precedes, take the final clause as an asyndetic relative clause, and translate, “into bottomless pits [from which] they cannot arise.” The Hebrew noun מַהֲמֹרָה (mahamorah, “bottomless pit”) occurs only here in the OT.