Psalms 10:8-9

10:8 He waits in ambush near the villages; ¹ 

in hidden places he kills the innocent.

His eyes look for some unfortunate victim. ² 

10:9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; ³ 

he lies in ambush, waiting to catch ⁴  the oppressed;

he catches the oppressed ⁵  by pulling in his net. ⁶ 

Nehemiah 4:11

4:11 Our adversaries also boasted, ⁷  “Before they are aware or anticipate ⁸  anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”

Habakkuk 3:14

3:14 You pierce the heads of his warriors ⁹  with a spear. ¹⁰ 

They storm forward to scatter us; ¹¹ 

they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition. ¹² 

[10:8]  ¹ tn Heb “he sits in the ambush of the villages.”

[10:8]  ² tn Heb “his eyes for an unfortunate person lie hidden.” The language may picture a lion (see v. 9) peering out from its hiding place in anticipation that an unsuspecting victim will soon come strolling along.

[10:9]  ³ tn Or “in its den.”

[10:9]  ⁴ tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.

[10:9]  ⁵ tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.

[10:9]  ⁶ tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”

[4:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “said.”

[4:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “see.”

[3:14]  ⁹ tn Some take “warriors” with the following line, in which case one should translate, “you pierce [his] head with a spear; his warriors storm forward to scatter us” (cf. NIV). The meaning of the Hebrew term פְּרָזוֹ (pÿrazo), translated here “his warriors,” is uncertain.

[3:14]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “his shafts.” Some emend to “your shafts.” The translation above assumes an emendation to מַטֶּה (matteh, “shaft, spear”), the vav-yod (ו-י) sequence being a corruption of an original he (ה).

[3:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “me,” but the author speaks as a representative of God’s people.

[3:14]  ¹² tn Heb “their rejoicing is like devouring the poor in secret.”