Psalms 12:8

12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere, ¹ 

when people promote evil. ² 

Psalms 34:7

34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around

the Lord’s ³  loyal followers ⁴  and delivers them. ⁵ 

Psalms 44:13

44:13 You made us ⁶  an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ⁷ 

Psalms 79:3

79:3 They have made their blood flow like water

all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. ⁸ 

Psalms 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. ⁹ 

[12:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the wicked walk all around.” One could translate v. 8a as an independent clause, in which case it would be a concluding observation in proverbial style. The present translation assumes that v. 8a is a subordinate explanatory clause, or perhaps a subordinate temporal clause (“while the wicked walk all around”). The adverb סָבִיב (saviv, “around”), in combination with the Hitpael form of the verb “walk” (which indicates repeated action), pictures the wicked as ubiquitous. They have seemingly overrun society.

[12:8]  ² tn Heb “when evil is lifted up by the sons of man.” The abstract noun זֻלּוּת (zulut, “evil”) occurs only here. On the basis of evidence from the cognate languages (see HALOT 272 s.v.), one might propose the meaning “base character,” or “morally foolish behavior.”

[34:7]  ³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[34:7]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same generalizing force as the active participle in the first line. See GKC 329 §111.u.

[44:13]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.”

[79:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”

[97:2]  ⁹ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.