Psalms 104:15

104:15 as well as wine that makes people feel so good, ¹ 

and so they can have oil to make their faces shine, ² 

as well as food that sustains people’s lives. ³ 

Psalms 55:13

55:13 But it is you, ⁴  a man like me, ⁵ 

my close friend in whom I confided. ⁶ 

Psalms 119:24

119:24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;

they give me guidance. ⁷ 

Psalms 59:2

59:2 Deliver me from evildoers! ⁸ 

Rescue me from violent men! ⁹ 

Psalms 66:12

66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;

we passed through fire and water,

but you brought us out into a wide open place. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 73:5

73:5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;

they do not suffer as other men do. ¹¹ 

Psalms 90:3

90:3 You make mankind return ¹²  to the dust, ¹³ 

and say, “Return, O people!”

Psalms 139:19

139:19 If only ¹⁴  you would kill the wicked, O God!

Get away from me, you violent men! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 8:4

8:4 Of what importance is the human race, ¹⁶  that you should notice ¹⁷  them?

Of what importance is mankind, ¹⁸  that you should pay attention to them, ¹⁹ 

Psalms 9:20

9:20 Terrify them, Lord! ²⁰ 

Let the nations know they are mere mortals! ²¹  (Selah)

Psalms 76:5

76:5 The bravehearted ²²  were plundered; ²³ 

they “fell asleep.” ²⁴ 

All the warriors were helpless. ²⁵ 

Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ²⁶  down to the deep Pit. ²⁷ 

Violent and deceitful people ²⁸  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ²⁹ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalms 141:4

141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, ³⁰ 

or participate in sinful activities

with men who behave wickedly. ³¹ 

I will not eat their delicacies. ³² 

Psalms 56:1

Psalm 56 ³³ 

For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; ³⁴  a prayer ³⁵  of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. ³⁶ 

56:1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! ³⁷ 

All day long hostile enemies ³⁸  are tormenting me. ³⁹ 

[104:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and wine [that] makes the heart of man happy.”

[104:15]  ² tn Heb “to make [the] face shine from oil.” The Hebrew verb צָהַל (tsahal, “to shine”) occurs only here in the OT. It appears to be an alternate form of צָהַר (tsahar), a derivative from צָהָרִים (tsaharim, “noon”).

[104:15]  ³ tn Heb “and food [that] sustains the heart of man.”

[55:13]  ⁴ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

[55:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

[55:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

[119:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “men of my counsel.” That is, God’s rules are like advisers to the psalmist, for they teach him how to live in a godly manner that refutes the accusations of his enemies.

[59:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the workers of wickedness.”

[59:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from men of bloodshed.”

[66:12]  ¹³ tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (“saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).

[73:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the trouble of man they are not, and with mankind they are not afflicted.”

[90:3]  ¹⁹ tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.

[90:3]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term דַּכָּא (daka’) carries the basic sense of “crushed.” Elsewhere it refers to those who are “crushed” in spirit or contrite of heart (see Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15). If one understands this nuance here, then v. 3 is observing that God leads mankind to repentance (the term שׁוּב, shuv, “return,” which appears twice in this verse, is sometimes used of repentance.) However, the following context laments mankind’s mortality and the brevity of life, so it is doubtful if v. 3 should be understood so positively. It is more likely that דַּכָּא here refers to “crushed matter,” that is, the dust that fills the grave (see HALOT 221 s.v. s.v. I דַּכָּא; BDB 194 s.v. דַּכָּא). In this case one may hear an echo of Gen 3:19.

[139:19]  ²² tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).

[139:19]  ²³ tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”

[8:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “What is man[kind]?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race.

[8:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “remember him.”

[8:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

[8:4]  ²⁸ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

[9:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “place, Lord, terror with regard to them.” The Hebrew term מוֹרָה (morah, “terror”) is an alternative form of מוֹרָא (mora’; a reading that appears in some mss and finds support in several ancient textual witnesses).

[9:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “let the nations know they [are] man[kind]”; i.e., mere human beings (as opposed to God).

[76:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).

[76:5]  ³² tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).

[76:5]  ³³ tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”

[76:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”

[55:23]  ³⁴ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ³⁵ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ³⁶ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ³⁷ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[141:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”

[141:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”

[141:4]  ³⁹ sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.

[56:1]  ⁴⁰ sn Psalm 56. Despite the threats of his enemies, the psalmist is confident the Lord will keep his promise to protect and deliver him.

[56:1]  ⁴¹ tn The literal meaning of this phrase is “silent dove, distant ones.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a type of musical instrument.

[56:1]  ⁴² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 57-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[56:1]  ⁴³ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him and took him to King Achish of Gath (see 1 Sam 21:11-15).

[56:1]  ⁴⁴ tn According to BDB 983 s.v. II שָׁאַף, the verb is derived from שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to trample, crush”) rather than the homonymic verb “pant after.”

[56:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “a fighter.” The singular is collective for his enemies (see vv. 5-6). The Qal of לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) also occurs in Ps 35:1.

[56:1]  ⁴⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the continuing nature of the enemies’ attacks.