Psalms 137:5

137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

may my right hand be crippled! ¹ 

Psalms 10:12

10:12 Rise up, Lord! ² 

O God, strike him down! ³ 

Do not forget the oppressed!

Psalms 44:24

44:24 Why do you look the other way, ⁴ 

and ignore ⁵  the way we are oppressed and mistreated? ⁶ 

Psalms 74:23

74:23 Do not disregard ⁷  what your enemies say, ⁸ 

or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you. ⁹ 

Psalms 74:19

74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove ¹⁰  over to a wild animal!

Do not continue to disregard ¹¹  the lives of your oppressed people!

[137:5]  ¹ tn Heb “may my right hand forget.” In this case one must supply an object, such as “how to move.” The elliptical nature of the text has prompted emendations (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 236). The translation assumes an emendation to תִּכְשַׁח (tikhshakh), from an otherwise unattested root כשׁח, meaning “to be crippled; to be lame.” See HALOT 502 s.v. כשׁח, which cites Arabic cognate evidence in support of the proposal. The corruption of the MT can be explained as an error of transposition facilitated by the use of שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”) just before this.

[10:12]  ² sn Rise up, O Lord! The psalmist’s mood changes from lament to petition and confidence.

[10:12]  ³ tn Heb “lift up your hand.” Usually the expression “lifting the hand” refers to praying (Pss 28:2; 134:2) or making an oath (Ps 106:26), but here it probably refers to “striking a blow” (see 2 Sam 18:28; 20:21). Note v. 15, where the psalmist asks the Lord to “break the arm of the wicked.” A less likely option is that the psalmist is requesting that the Lord declare by oath his intention to intervene.

[44:24]  ³ tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[44:24]  ⁴ tn Or “forget.”

[44:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “our oppression and our affliction.”

[74:23]  ⁴ tn Or “forget.”

[74:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “the voice of your enemies.”

[74:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “the roar of those who rise up against you, which ascends continually.”

[74:19]  ⁵ sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.

[74:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not forget forever.”