Psalms 11:5

11:5 The Lord approves of ¹  the godly, ² 

but he ³  hates ⁴  the wicked and those who love to do violence. ⁵ 

Psalms 25:19

25:19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;

they hate me and want to harm me. ⁶ 

Psalms 35:11

35:11 Violent men perjure themselves, ⁷ 

and falsely accuse me. ⁸ 

Psalms 73:6

73:6 Arrogance is their necklace, ⁹ 

and violence their clothing. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 74:20

74:20 Remember your covenant promises, ¹¹ 

for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules. ¹² 

[11:5]  ¹ tn Heb “examines,” the same verb used in v. 4b. But here it is used in a metonymic sense of “examine and approve” (see Jer 20:12).

[11:5]  ² tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure (of heart)” in v. 2.

[11:5]  ³ tn Heb “his [very] being.” A נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, soul”) is also attributed to the Lord in Isa 1:14, where a suffixed form of the noun appears as the subject of the verb “hate.” Both there and here the term is used of the seat of one’s emotions and passions.

[11:5]  ⁴ sn He hates the wicked. The Lord “hates” the wicked in the sense that he despises their wicked character and deeds, and actively opposes and judges them for their wickedness. See Ps 5:5.

[11:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked [one] and the lover of violence.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked [ones]”) in vv. 2 and 6.

[25:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “see my enemies for they are numerous, and [with] violent hatred they hate me.”

[35:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “witnesses of violence rise up.”

[35:11]  ¹² tn Heb “[that] which I do not know they ask me.”

[73:6]  ¹⁶ sn Arrogance is their necklace. The metaphor suggests that their arrogance is something the wicked “wear” proudly. It draws attention to them, just as a beautiful necklace does to its owner.

[73:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a garment of violence covers them.” The metaphor suggests that violence is habitual for the wicked. They “wear” it like clothing; when one looks at them, violence is what one sees.

[74:20]  ²¹ tc Heb “look at the covenant.” The LXX reads “your covenant,” which seems to assume a second person pronominal suffix. The suffix may have been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word (כִּי) begins with kaf (כ).

[74:20]  ²² tn Heb “for the dark places of the earth are full of dwelling places of violence.” The “dark regions” are probably the lands where the people have been exiled (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:157). In some contexts “dark regions” refers to Sheol (Ps 88:6) or to hiding places likened to Sheol (Ps 143:3; Lam 3:6).