Psalms 107:26

107:26 They ¹  reached up to the sky,

then dropped into the depths.

The sailors’ strength ²  left them ³  because the danger was so great. ⁴ 

Psalms 119:136

119:136 Tears stream down from my eyes, ⁵ 

because people ⁶  do not keep your law.

Psalms 55:15

55:15 May death destroy them! ⁷ 

May they go down alive into Sheol! ⁸ 

For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.

Psalms 104:8

104:8 as the mountains rose up,

and the valleys went down –

to the place you appointed for them. ⁹ 

[107:26]  ¹ tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).

[107:26]  ² tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[107:26]  ³ tn Or “melted.”

[107:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “from danger.”

[119:136]  ⁵ tn Heb “[with] flowing streams my eyes go down.”

[119:136]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; even though somewhat generic, the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[55:15]  ⁹ tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.

[55:15]  ¹⁰ sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.

[104:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “from your shout they fled, from the sound of your thunder they hurried off.”