Psalms 35:5

35:5 May they be ¹  like wind-driven chaff,

as the Lord’s angel ²  attacks them! ³ 

Psalms 36:12

36:12 I can see the evildoers! They have fallen! ⁴ 

They have been knocked down and are unable to get up! ⁵ 

Psalms 62:3

62:3 How long will you threaten ⁶  a man?

All of you are murderers, ⁷ 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ⁸ 

Psalms 140:4

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ⁹  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ¹⁰ 

[35:5]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.

[35:5]  ² sn See the mention of the Lord’s angel in Ps 34:7.

[35:5]  ³ tn Heb “as the Lord’s angel pushes [them].”

[36:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “there the workers of wickedness have fallen.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the evildoers lying fallen at a spot that is vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[36:12]  ⁵ tn The psalmist uses perfect verbal forms in v. 12 to describe the demise of the wicked as if it has already taken place.

[62:3]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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).

[140:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to push down my steps.”