Psalms 33:9-10

33:9 For he spoke, and it ¹  came into existence,

he issued the decree, ²  and it stood firm.

33:10 The Lord frustrates ³  the decisions of the nations;

he nullifies the plans ⁴  of the peoples.

[33:9]  ¹ tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).

[33:9]  ² tn Heb “he commanded.”

[33:10]  ³ tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the Lord’s activity.

[33:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “thoughts.”