Psalms 125:2

125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, ¹ 

so the Lord surrounds his people,

now and forevermore.

Psalms 78:28

78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,

all around their homes.

Psalms 79:4

79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ² 

Psalms 97:3

97:3 Fire goes before him;

on every side ³  it burns up his enemies.

Psalms 12:8

12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere, ⁴ 

when people promote evil. ⁵ 

Psalms 34:7

34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around

the Lord’s ⁶  loyal followers ⁷  and delivers them. ⁸ 

Psalms 44:13

44:13 You made us ⁹  an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 79:3

79:3 They have made their blood flow like water

all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. ¹¹ 

Psalms 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. ¹² 

Psalms 3:6

3:6 I am not afraid ¹³  of the multitude of people ¹⁴ 

who attack me from all directions. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 18:11

18:11 He shrouded himself in darkness, ¹⁶ 

in thick rain clouds. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 50:3

50:3 Our God approaches and is not silent; ¹⁸ 

consuming fire goes ahead of him

and all around him a storm rages. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 76:11

76:11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them!

Let all those who surround him ²⁰  bring tribute to the awesome one!

Psalms 89:7-8

89:7 a God who is honored ²¹  in the great angelic assembly, ²² 

and more awesome than ²³  all who surround him?

89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! ²⁴ 

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Psalms 128:3

128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine ²⁵ 

in the inner rooms of your house;

your children ²⁶  will be like olive branches,

as they sit all around your table.

Psalms 27:6

27:6 Now I will triumph

over my enemies who surround me! ²⁷ 

I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy! ²⁸ 

I will sing praises to the Lord!

Psalms 31:13

31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, ²⁹ 

the terrifying news that comes from every direction. ³⁰ 

When they plot together against me,

they figure out how they can take my life.

[125:2]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[79:4]  ² tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.” See Ps 44:13.

[97:3]  ³ tn Heb “all around.”

[12:8]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[34:7]  ⁷ 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]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:13]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[3:6]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s continuing attitude as he faces the crisis at hand.

[3:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps “troops.” The Hebrew noun עָם (’am) sometimes refers to a military contingent or army.

[3:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “who all around take a stand against me.”

[18:11]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “he made darkness his hiding place around him, his covering.” 2 Sam 22:12 reads, “he made darkness around him coverings,” omitting “his hiding place” and pluralizing “covering.” Ps 18:11 may include a conflation of synonyms (“his hiding place” and “his covering”) or 2 Sam 22:12 may be the result of haplography/homoioarcton. Note that three successive words in Ps 18:11 begin with the Hebrew letter samek: סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ (sitro sÿvivotayv sukkato).

[18:11]  ¹¹ tc Heb “darkness of water, clouds of clouds.” The noun “darkness” (חֶשְׁכַת, kheshkhat) is probably a corruption of an original reading חשׁרת, a form that is preserved in 2 Sam 22:12. The latter is a construct form of חַשְׁרָה (khashrah, “sieve”) which occurs only here in the OT. A cognate Ugaritic noun means “sieve,” and a related verb חָשַׁר (khashar, “to sift”) is attested in postbiblical Hebrew and Aramaic. The phrase חַשְׁרַת מַיִם (khashrat mayim) means literally “a sieve of water.” It pictures the rain clouds as a sieve through which the rain falls to the ground (see F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry [SBLDS], 146, n. 33).

[50:3]  ¹¹ tn According to GKC 322 §109.e, the jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al) is used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.”

[50:3]  ¹² tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”

[76:11]  ¹² tn The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.

[89:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “feared.”

[89:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”

[89:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps “feared by.”

[89:8]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.

[128:3]  ¹⁵ sn The metaphor of the fruitful vine pictures the wife as fertile; she will give her husband numerous children (see the next line).

[128:3]  ¹⁶ tn One could translate “sons” (see Ps 127:3 and the note on the word “sons” there), but here the term seems to refer more generally to children of both genders.

[27:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and now my head will be lifted up over my enemies all around me.”

[27:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will sacrifice in his tent sacrifices of a shout for joy” (that is, “sacrifices accompanied by a joyful shout”).

[31:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the report of many.”

[31:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the terror from all around.”