Psalms 35:4

35:4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated!

May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed! ¹ 

Psalms 35:26

35:26 May those who want to harm me be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ² 

May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation! ³ 

Psalms 38:12

38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; ⁴ 

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

Psalms 40:14

40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life

be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ⁵ 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ⁶ 

Psalms 70:2

70:2 May those who are trying to take my life

be embarrassed and ashamed! ⁷ 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ⁸ 

Psalms 70:1

Psalm 70 ⁹ 

For the music director; by David; written to get God’s attention. ¹⁰ 

70:1 O God, please be willing to rescue me! ¹¹ 

O Lord, hurry and help me! ¹² 

Psalms 25:1

Psalm 25 ¹³ 

By David.

25:1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer. ¹⁴ 

[35:4]  ¹ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies. See also the distinct jussive form in v. 6.

[35:26]  ² tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones who rejoice over my harm.”

[35:26]  ³ tn Heb “may they be clothed with shame and humiliation, the ones who magnify [themselves] against me.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 26 are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-25, where the negative particle אַל (’al) appears before the prefixed verbal forms, indicating they are jussives). The psalmist is calling down judgment on his enemies.

[38:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “lay snares.”

[40:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones seeking my life to snatch it away.”

[40:14]  ⁶ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse (“may those…be…embarrassed and ashamed…may those…be turned back and ashamed”) are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[70:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed, the ones seeking my life.” Ps 40:14 has “together” after “ashamed,” and “to snatch it away” after “my life.”

[70:2]  ⁸ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[70:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 70. This psalm is almost identical to Ps 40:13-17. The psalmist asks for God’s help and for divine retribution against his enemies.

[70:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to cause to remember.” The same form, a Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the superscription of Ps 38. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).

[70:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “O God, to rescue me.” A main verb is obviously missing. The verb רָצָה (ratsah, “be willing”) should be supplied (see Ps 40:13). Ps 40:13 uses the divine name “Lord” rather than “God.”

[70:1]  ¹² tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.

[25:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.

[25:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.