Discovery BoxPsalms 35:7-12
Context35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me. 1
35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! 2
Let the net they hid catch them!
Let them fall into destruction! 3
35:9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance. 4
35:10 With all my strength I will say, 5
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue 6 the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; 7
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” 8
35:11 Violent men perjure themselves, 9
and falsely accuse me. 10
35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done; 11
I am overwhelmed with sorrow. 12
[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).
[35:8] 2 tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.
[35:8] 3 tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.
[35:9] 4 tn Heb “then my soul will rejoice in the
[35:10] 5 tn Heb “all my bones will say.”
[35:10] 6 tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.
[35:10] 7 tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.
[35:10] 8 tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.
[35:11] 9 tn Heb “witnesses of violence rise up.”
[35:11] 10 tn Heb “[that] which I do not know they ask me.”
