Psalms 35:7

35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me

and dug a pit to trap me. ¹ 

Psalms 35:20

35:20 For they do not try to make peace with others, ² 

but plan ways to deceive those who are unsuspecting. ³ 

Psalms 59:3-4

59:3 For look, they wait to ambush me; ⁴ 

powerful men stalk ⁵  me,

but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord. ⁶ 

59:4 Though I have done nothing wrong, ⁷  they are anxious to attack. ⁸ 

Spring into action and help me! Take notice of me! ⁹ 

Psalms 69:4

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, ¹⁰  outnumber me. ¹¹ 

They make me repay what I did not steal! ¹² 

Psalms 69:1

Psalm 69 ¹³ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ¹⁴  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 19:4-5

19:4 Yet its voice ¹⁶  echoes ¹⁷  throughout the earth;

its ¹⁸  words carry ¹⁹  to the distant horizon. ²⁰ 

In the sky ²¹  he has pitched a tent for the sun. ²² 

19:5 Like a bridegroom it emerges ²³  from its chamber; ²⁴ 

like a strong man it enjoys ²⁵  running its course. ²⁶ 

Psalms 26:1-2

Psalm 26 ²⁷ 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, ²⁸ 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me!

Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives! ²⁹ 

Psalms 15:1

Psalm 15 ³⁰ 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ³¹ 

Who may live on your holy hill? ³² 

John 15:24-25

15:24 If I had not performed ³³  among them the miraculous deeds ³⁴  that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. ³⁵  But now they have seen the deeds ³⁶  and have hated both me and my Father. ³⁷  15:25 Now this happened ³⁸  to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without reason.’ ³⁹ 

[35:7]  ¹ tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).

[35:20]  ² tn Heb “for they do not speak peace.”

[35:20]  ³ 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.

[59:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “my life.”

[59:3]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 56:8.

[59:3]  ⁶ sn The point is that the psalmist’s enemies have no justifiable reason for attacking him. He has neither rebelled or sinned against the Lord.

[59:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “without sin.”

[59:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “they run and they are determined.”

[59:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “arise to meet me and see.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to meet; to encounter”) here carries the nuance of “to help.”

[69:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).

[69:4]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).

[69:4]  ¹² tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.

[69:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

[19:4]  ¹⁶ tc The MT reads, “their measuring line” (קוּם, qum). The noun קַו (qav, “measuring line”) makes no sense in this context. The reading קוֹלָם (qolam, “their voice”) which is supported by the LXX, is preferable.

[19:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “goes out,” or “proceeds forth.”

[19:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “their” (see the note on the word “its” in v. 3).

[19:4]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is supplied in the translation. The Hebrew text has no verb; יָצָא (yatsa’, “goes out”) is understood by ellipsis.

[19:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to the end of the world.”

[19:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “in them” (i.e., the heavens).

[19:4]  ²² sn He has pitched a tent for the sun. The personified sun emerges from this “tent” in order to make its daytime journey across the sky. So the “tent” must refer metaphorically to the place where the sun goes to rest during the night.

[19:5]  ²³ tn The participle expresses the repeated or regular nature of the action.

[19:5]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew noun חֻפָּה (khufah, “chamber”) occurs elsewhere only in Isa 4:5 and Joel 2:16 (where it refers to the bedroom of a bride and groom).

[19:5]  ²⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the regularity of the action.

[19:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[on] a path.”

[26:1]  ²⁷ sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

[26:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

[26:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “evaluate my kidneys and my heart.” The kidneys and heart were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[15:1]  ³⁰ sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.

[15:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ³² sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[15:24]  ³³ tn Or “If I had not done.”

[15:24]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the works.”

[15:24]  ³⁵ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:24]  ³⁶ tn The words “the deeds” are supplied to clarify from context what was seen. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[15:24]  ³⁷ tn Or “But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.” It is possible to understand both the “seeing” and the “hating” to refer to both Jesus and the Father, but this has the world “seeing” the Father, which seems alien to the Johannine Jesus. (Some point out John 14:9 as an example, but this is addressed to the disciples, not to the world.) It is more likely that the “seeing” refers to the miraculous deeds mentioned in the first half of the verse. Such an understanding of the first “both – and” construction is apparently supported by BDF §444.3.

[15:25]  ³⁸ tn The words “this happened” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to complete an ellipsis.

[15:25]  ³⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 35:19 and Ps 69:4. As a technical term law (νόμος, nomos) is usually restricted to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT), but here it must have a broader reference, since the quotation is from Ps 35:19 or Ps 69:4. The latter is the more likely source for the quoted words, since it is cited elsewhere in John’s Gospel (2:17 and 19:29, in both instances in contexts associated with Jesus’ suffering and death).