Psalms 32:8

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ¹  about how you should live. ² 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ³ 

Psalms 71:10

71:10 For my enemies talk about me;

those waiting for a chance to kill me plot my demise. ⁴ 

Psalms 83:3

83:3 They carefully plot ⁵  against your people,

and make plans to harm ⁶  the ones you cherish. ⁷ 

Psalms 83:5

83:5 Yes, ⁸  they devise a unified strategy; ⁹ 

they form an alliance ¹⁰  against you.

Psalms 16:7

16:7 I will praise ¹¹  the Lord who ¹²  guides ¹³  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 62:4

62:4 They ¹⁵  spend all their time planning how to bring him ¹⁶  down. ¹⁷ 

They love to use deceit; ¹⁸ 

they pronounce blessings with their mouths,

but inwardly they utter curses. ¹⁹  (Selah)

[32:8]  ¹ tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ² tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ³ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[71:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “those who watch for my life consult together.”

[83:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”

[83:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and consult together against.”

[83:3]  ⁹ tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”

[83:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[83:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”

[83:5]  ¹² tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[16:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.

[62:4]  ¹⁶ tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ¹⁷ tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”

[62:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”

[62:4]  ²⁰ sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.