Psalms 2:4

2:4 The one enthroned ¹  in heaven laughs in disgust; ² 

the Lord taunts ³  them.

Psalms 10:10

10:10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they are trapped in his sturdy nets. ⁴ 

Psalms 72:2

72:2 Then he will judge ⁵  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ⁶  equitably.

Psalms 78:25

78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. ⁷ 

He sent them more than enough to eat. ⁸ 

Psalms 94:8

94:8 Take notice of this, ⁹  you ignorant people! ¹⁰ 

You fools, when will you ever understand?

Psalms 103:3

103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,

who heals all your diseases, ¹¹ 

Psalms 132:10

132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,

do not reject your chosen king! ¹² 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).

[2:4]  ² tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[2:4]  ³ tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”

[10:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “he crushes, he is bowed down, and he falls into his strong [ones], [the] unfortunate [ones].” This verse presents several lexical and syntactical difficulties. The first word (יִדְכֶּה, yidekeh) is an otherwise unattested Qal form of the verb דָּכָה (dakhah, “crush”). (The Qere [marginal] form is imperfect; the consonantal text [Kethib] has the perfect with a prefixed conjunction vav [ו].) If the wicked man’s victim is the subject, which seems to be the case (note the two verbs which follow), then the form should be emended to a Niphal (יִדָּכֶה, yiddakheh). The phrase בַּעֲצוּמָיו (ba’atsumayv, “into his strong [ones]”), poses interpretive problems. The preposition -בְּ (bet) follows the verb נָפַל (nafal, “fall”), so it may very well carry the nuance “into” here, with “his strong [ones]” then referring to something into which the oppressed individual falls. Since a net is mentioned in the preceding verse as the instrument used to entrap the victim, it is possible that “strong [ones]” here refers metonymically to the wicked man’s nets or traps. Ps 35:8 refers to a man falling into a net (רֶשֶׁת, reshet), as does Ps 141:10 (where the plural of מִכְמָר [mikhmar, “net”] is used). A hunter’s net (רֶשֶׁת), is associated with snares (פַּח [pakh], מֹקְשִׁים, [moqÿshim]) and ropes (חֲבָלִים, khavalim) in Ps 140:5. The final word in the verse (חֶלְכָּאִים (khelka’im, “unfortunate [ones]”) may be an alternate form of חֵלְכָח (khelkhakh, “unfortunate [one]”; see vv. 8, 14). The Qere (marginal reading) divides the form into two words, חֵיל כָּאִים (khel ka’im, “army/host of disheartened [ones]”). The three verb forms in v. 10 are singular because the representative “oppressed” individual is the grammatical subject (see the singular עָנִי [’aniy] in v. 9).

[72:2]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ⁸ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[78:25]  ¹⁰ sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[78:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”

[94:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “understand.” The verb used in v. 7 is repeated here for rhetorical effect. The people referred to here claim God is ignorant of their actions, but the psalmist corrects their faulty viewpoint.

[94:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[you] brutish among the people.”

[103:3]  ¹⁶ tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).

[132:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”