Psalms 129:5

129:5 May all who hate Zion

be humiliated and turned back!

Psalms 139:5

139:5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;

you place your hand on me.

Psalms 9:3

9:3 When my enemies turn back,

they trip and are defeated ¹  before you.

Psalms 44:10

44:10 You made us retreat ²  from the enemy.

Those who hate us take whatever they want from us. ³ 

Psalms 78:66

78:66 He drove his enemies back;

he made them a permanent target for insults. ⁴ 

Psalms 35:4

35:4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated!

May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed! ⁵ 

Psalms 40:14

40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life

be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ⁶ 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ⁷ 

Psalms 44:18

44:18 We have not been unfaithful, ⁸ 

nor have we disobeyed your commands. ⁹ 

Psalms 56:9

56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; ¹⁰ 

I know that God is on my side. ¹¹ 

Psalms 70:2

70:2 May those who are trying to take my life

be embarrassed and ashamed! ¹² 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ¹³ 

[9:3]  ¹ tn Or “perish”; or “die.” The imperfect verbal forms in this line either emphasize what typically happens or describe vividly the aftermath of a recent battle in which the Lord defeated the psalmist’s enemies.

[44:10]  ¹ tn Heb “you caused us to turn backward.”

[44:10]  ² tn Heb “plunder for themselves.” The prepositional phrase לָמוֹ (lamo, “for themselves”) here has the nuance “at their will” or “as they please” (see Ps 80:6).

[78:66]  ¹ tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”

[35:4]  ¹ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies. See also the distinct jussive form in v. 6.

[40:14]  ¹ tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones seeking my life to snatch it away.”

[40:14]  ² tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse (“may those…be…embarrassed and ashamed…may those…be turned back and ashamed”) are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[44:18]  ¹ tn Heb “our heart did not turn backward.” Cf. Ps 78:57.

[44:18]  ² tn Heb “and our steps did [not] turn aside from your path.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line). God’s “path” refers to his commands, i.e., the moral pathway he has prescribed for the psalmist. See Pss 17:5; 25:4.

[56:9]  ¹ tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.

[56:9]  ² tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”

[70:2]  ¹ tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed, the ones seeking my life.” Ps 40:14 has “together” after “ashamed,” and “to snatch it away” after “my life.”

[70:2]  ² tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.