Psalms 32:9

32:9 Do not be ¹  like an unintelligent horse or mule, ² 

which will not obey you

unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. ³ 

Psalms 36:1

Psalm 36 ⁴ 

For the music director; written by the Lord’s servant, David; an oracle. ⁵ 

36:1 An evil man is rebellious to the core. ⁶ 

He does not fear God, ⁷ 

Psalms 40:5

40:5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;

you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. ⁸ 

No one can thwart you! ⁹ 

I want to declare them and talk about them,

but they are too numerous to recount! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 40:12

40:12 For innumerable dangers ¹¹  surround me.

My sins overtake me

so I am unable to see;

they outnumber the hairs of my head

so my strength fails me. ¹² 

Psalms 55:19

55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,

will hear and humiliate them. ¹³  (Selah)

They refuse to change,

and do not fear God. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ¹⁵ 

I have nowhere to run; ¹⁶ 

no one is concerned about my life. ¹⁷ 

[32:9]  ¹ tn The verb form is plural (i.e., “do not all of you be”); the psalmist addresses the whole group.

[32:9]  ² tn Heb “like a horse, like a mule without understanding.”

[32:9]  ³ tn Heb “with a bridle and bit, its [?] to hold, not to come near to you.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun עֲדִי (’adiy) is uncertain. Normally the word refers to “jewelry,” so some suggest the meaning “trappings” here (cf. NASB). Some emend the form to לְחֵיהֶם (lÿkhehem, “their jawbones”) but it is difficult to see how the present Hebrew text, even if corrupt, could have derived from this proposed original reading. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 265) takes the form from an Arabic root and translates “whose gallop.” Cf. also NRSV “whose temper must be curbed.”

[36:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 36. Though evil men plan to harm others, the psalmist is confident that the Lord is the just ruler of the earth who gives and sustains all life. He prays for divine blessing and protection and anticipates God’s judgment of the wicked.

[36:1]  ⁵ tn In the Hebrew text the word נאם (“oracle”) appears at the beginning of the next verse (v. 2 in the Hebrew text because the superscription is considered v. 1). The resulting reading, “an oracle of rebellion for the wicked [is] in the midst of my heart” (cf. NIV) apparently means that the psalm, which foresees the downfall of the wicked, is a prophetic oracle about the rebellion of the wicked which emerges from the soul of the psalmist. One could translate, “Here is a poem written as I reflected on the rebellious character of evil men.” Another option, followed in the translation above, is to attach נאם (nÿ’um, “oracle”) with the superscription. For another example of a Davidic poem being labeled an “oracle,” see 2 Sam 23:1.

[36:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the] rebellion of an evil man [is] in the midst of my heart.” The translation assumes a reading “in the midst of his heart” (i.e., “to the core”) instead of “in the midst of my heart,” a change which finds support in a a few medieval Hebrew mss, the Hebrew text of Origen’s Hexapla, and the Syriac.

[36:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “there is no dread of God before his eyes.” The phrase “dread of God” refers here to a healthy respect for God which recognizes that he will punish evil behavior.

[40:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “many things you have done, you, O Lord my God, your amazing deeds and your thoughts toward us.” The precise meaning of the text is not clear, but the psalmist seems to be recalling the Lord’s miraculous deeds on Israel’s behalf (see Pss 9:1; 26:7), as well as his covenantal decrees and promises (see Ps 33:11).

[40:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “there is none arrayed against you.” The precise meaning of the text is unclear, but the collocation עָרַךְ אֶל (’arakh ’el, “array against”) is used elsewhere of military (Judg 20:30; 1 Chr 19:17) or verbal opposition (Job 32:14).

[40:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will declare and I will speak, they are too numerous to recount.” The present translation assumes that the cohortatives are used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “Should I try to declare [them] and speak [of them]…” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortatives are part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.) Another option is to take the cohortatives as a declaration of the psalmist’s resolve to announce the truth expressed in the next line. In this case one might translate: “I will declare and speak [the truth]: They are too numerous to recount.”

[40:12]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).

[40:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.

[55:19]  ¹³ tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).

[55:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”

[142:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”