Psalms 17:9-15

17:9 Protect me from ¹  the wicked men who attack ²  me,

my enemies who crowd around me for the kill. ³ 

17:10 They are calloused; ⁴ 

they speak arrogantly. ⁵ 

17:11 They attack me, now they surround me; ⁶ 

they intend to throw me to the ground. ⁷ 

17:12 He ⁸  is like a lion ⁹  that wants to tear its prey to bits, ¹⁰ 

like a young lion crouching ¹¹  in hidden places.

17:13 Rise up, Lord!

Confront him! ¹²  Knock him down! ¹³ 

Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! ¹⁴ 

17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ¹⁵ 

from the murderers of this world! ¹⁶ 

They enjoy prosperity; ¹⁷ 

you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ¹⁸ 

They have many children,

and leave their wealth to their offspring. ¹⁹ 

17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; ²⁰ 

when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. ²¹ 

[17:9]  ¹ tn Heb “from before”; or “because.” In the Hebrew text v. 9 is subordinated to v. 8. The words “protect me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:9]  ² tn Heb “destroy.” The psalmist uses the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of danger. He describes the wicked as being already in the process of destroying him.

[17:9]  ³ tn Heb “my enemies, at the risk of life they surround me.” The Hebrew phrase בְּנֶפֶשׁ (bÿnefesh) sometimes has the nuance “at the risk of [one’s] life” (see 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23; Lam 5:9).

[17:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “their fat they close.” The Hebrew term חֵלֶב (khelev, “fat”) appears to stand by metonymy for their calloused hearts. They attack the psalmist without feeling any pity or remorse. Some propose emending the text to חֵלֶב לִבָּמוֹ (khelev libbamo, “fat of their heart[s]; cf. Ps 119:70, “their heart is insensitive like fat”). This assumes haplography of the לב (lamed-bet) consonantal sequence.

[17:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “[with] their mouth they speak with arrogance.”

[17:11]  ⁶ tc Heb “our steps, now they surround me.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “surround me,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has “surround us,” harmonizing the pronoun to the preceding “our steps.” The first person plural pronoun does not fit the context, where the psalmist speaks as an individual. In the preceding verses the psalmist uses a first person singular verbal or pronominal form twenty times. For this reason it is preferable to emend “our steps” to אִשְּׁרוּנִי (’ishÿruni, “they attack me”) from the verbal root אָשֻׁר (’ashur, “march, stride, track”).

[17:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “their eyes they set to bend down in the ground.”

[17:12]  ⁸ tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.

[17:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”

[17:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”

[17:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “sitting.”

[17:13]  ¹² tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”

[17:13]  ¹³ tn Or “bring him to his knees.”

[17:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”

[17:14]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimtim, “from men”) to מִמְמִתִים (mimmitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).

[17:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”

[17:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their portion, in life.”

[17:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”

[17:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”

[17:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”

[17:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.