Psalms 35:8

35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! ¹ 

Let the net they hid catch them!

Let them fall into destruction! ² 

Psalms 87:5

87:5 But it is said of Zion’s residents, ³ 

“Each one of these ⁴  was born in her,

and the sovereign One ⁵  makes her secure.” ⁶ 

[35:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.

[87:5]  ³ tn Heb “and of Zion it is said.” Another option is to translate, “and to Zion it is said.” In collocation with the Niphal of אָמַר (’amar), the preposition lamed (-לְ) can introduce the recipient of the statement (see Josh 2:2; Jer 4:11; Hos 1:10; Zeph 3:16), carry the nuance “concerning, of” (see Num 23:23), or mean “be named” (see Isa 4:3; 62:4).

[87:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “a man and a man.” The idiom also appears in Esth 1:8. The translation assumes that the phrase refers to each of Zion’s residents, in contrast to the foreigners mentioned in v. 4. Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand this as a reference to each of the nations, including those mentioned in v. 4.

[87:5]  ⁵ tn Traditionally “Most High.”

[87:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he makes her secure, the Most High.”