Psalms 35:20

35:20 For they do not try to make peace with others, ¹ 

but plan ways to deceive those who are unsuspecting. ² 

Psalms 62:3-4

62:3 How long will you threaten ³  a man?

All of you are murderers, ⁴ 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ⁵ 

62:4 They ⁶  spend all their time planning how to bring him ⁷  down. ⁸ 

They love to use deceit; ⁹ 

they pronounce blessings with their mouths,

but inwardly they utter curses. ¹⁰  (Selah)

Psalms 62:2

62:2 He alone is my protector ¹¹  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ¹²  I will not be upended. ¹³ 

Psalms 16:7-8

16:7 I will praise ¹⁴  the Lord who ¹⁵  guides ¹⁶  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ¹⁷ 

16:8 I constantly trust in the Lord; ¹⁸ 

because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.

Luke 20:21-22

20:21 Thus ¹⁹  they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, ²⁰  and show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²¹  20:22 Is it right ²²  for us to pay the tribute tax ²³  to Caesar ²⁴  or not?”

[35:20]  ¹ tn Heb “for they do not speak peace.”

[35:20]  ² tn Heb “but against the quiet ones of the land words of deceit they plan.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 20 highlight their characteristic behavior.

[62:3]  ³ tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”

[62:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.

[62:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).

[62:4]  ⁶ tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ⁷ tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”

[62:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”

[62:4]  ¹⁰ 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.

[62:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ¹² tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[16:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ¹⁶ tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ¹⁷ 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.

[16:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).

[20:21]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the plans by the spies.

[20:21]  ²⁰ tn Or “precisely”; Grk “rightly.” Jesus teaches exactly, the straight and narrow.

[20:21]  ²¹ sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[20:22]  ²² tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.

[20:22]  ²³ tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence – ‘tribute tax.’”

[20:22]  ²⁴ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).