Psalms 25:3
Context25:3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted 1 and humiliated.
Psalms 73:15
Context73:15 If I had publicized these thoughts, 2
I would have betrayed your loyal followers. 3
Psalms 119:158
Context119:158 I take note of the treacherous and despise them,
because they do not keep your instructions. 4


[25:3] 1 tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).
[73:15] 2 tn Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’”
[73:15] 3 tn Heb “look, the generation of your sons I would have betrayed.” The phrase “generation of your [i.e., God’s] sons” occurs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with “generation of the godly” (Ps 14:5), “generation of the ones seeking him” (Ps 24:6), and “generation of the upright” (Ps 112:2). In Deut 14:1 the Israelites are referred to as God’s “sons.” Perhaps the psalmist refers here to those who are “Israelites” in the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxtaposition of “Israel” with “the pure in heart” in v. 1).