Psalms 107:40-43

107:40 He would pour ¹  contempt upon princes,

and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.

107:41 Yet he protected ²  the needy from oppression,

and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,

and every sinner ³  shuts his mouth.

107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!

Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!

[107:40]  ¹ tn The active participle is understood as past durative here, drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame. However, it could be taken as generalizing (in which case one should translate using the English present tense), in which case the psalmist moves from narrative to present reality. Perhaps the participial form appears because the statement is lifted from Job 12:21.

[107:41]  ² tn Heb “set on high.”

[107:42]  ³ tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.