Psalms 36:4

36:4 He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed;

he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; ¹ 

he does not reject what is evil. ² 

Psalms 36:12

36:12 I can see the evildoers! They have fallen! ³ 

They have been knocked down and are unable to get up! ⁴ 

Psalms 37:12-13

37:12 Evil men plot against the godly ⁵ 

and viciously attack them. ⁶ 

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ⁷  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ⁸ 

Psalms 37:1

Psalm 37 ⁹ 

By David.

37:1 Do not fret ¹⁰  when wicked men seem to succeed! ¹¹ 

Do not envy evildoers!

Psalms 23:1

Psalm 23 ¹² 

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, ¹³ 

I lack nothing. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 24:1

Psalm 24 ¹⁵ 

A psalm of David.

24:1 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,

the world and all who live in it.

Psalms 24:1

Psalm 24 ¹⁶ 

A psalm of David.

24:1 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,

the world and all who live in it.

Psalms 26:10

26:10 who are always ready to do wrong ¹⁷ 

or offer a bribe. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 28:1

Psalm 28 ¹⁹ 

By David.

28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My protector, ²⁰  do not ignore me! ²¹ 

If you do not respond to me, ²² 

I will join ²³  those who are descending into the grave. ²⁴ 

Psalms 31:3-4

31:3 For you are my high ridge ²⁵  and my stronghold;

for the sake of your own reputation ²⁶  you lead me and guide me. ²⁷ 

31:4 You will free me ²⁸  from the net they hid for me,

for you are my place of refuge.

Psalms 31:1

Psalm 31 ²⁹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!

Never let me be humiliated!

Vindicate me by rescuing me! ³⁰ 

Psalms 2:1

Psalm 2 ³¹ 

2:1 Why ³²  do the nations rebel? ³³ 

Why ³⁴  are the countries ³⁵  devising ³⁶  plots that will fail? ³⁷ 

Esther 9:25

9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king ³⁸  gave written orders that Haman’s ³⁹  evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Malachi 2:3-5

2:3 I am about to discipline your children ⁴⁰  and will spread offal ⁴¹  on your faces, ⁴²  the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it. 2:4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant ⁴³  may continue to be with Levi,” says the Lord who rules over all. 2:5 “My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me.

[36:4]  ¹ tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.

[36:4]  ² tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.

[36:12]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The psalmist uses perfect verbal forms in v. 12 to describe the demise of the wicked as if it has already taken place.

[37:12]  ⁵ tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.

[37:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.

[37:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[37:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.

[37:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 37. The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[37:1]  ¹⁰ tn The verb form is singular (see vv. 3-10 as well, where the second person verbs and pronouns are also singular). The psalmist’s exhortation has a wisdom flavor to it; it is personalized for each member of his audience.

[37:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.

[23:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 23. In vv. 1-4 the psalmist pictures the Lord as a shepherd who provides for his needs and protects him from danger. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then extends and develops that metaphor, speaking as if he were a sheep. In vv. 5-6 the metaphor changes as the psalmist depicts a great royal banquet hosted by the Lord. The psalmist is a guest of honor and recipient of divine favor, who enjoys unlimited access to the divine palace and the divine presence.

[23:1]  ¹³ sn The LORD is my shepherd. The opening metaphor suggests the psalmist is assuming the role of a sheep. In vv. 1b-4 the psalmist extends the metaphor and explains exactly how the LORD is like a shepherd to him. At the surface level the language can be understood in terms of a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep. The translation of vv. 1-4 reflects this level. But, of course, each statement also points to an underlying reality.

[23:1]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the LORD as his shepherd (habitual present use). The next verse explains more specifically what he means by this statement.

[24:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 24. The psalmist affirms the universal kingship of the sovereign creator, reminds his people that only the morally pure are qualified to worship him, and celebrates his splendor as a mighty warrior king.

[24:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 24. The psalmist affirms the universal kingship of the sovereign creator, reminds his people that only the morally pure are qualified to worship him, and celebrates his splendor as a mighty warrior king.

[26:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”

[26:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”

[28:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.

[28:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[28:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”

[28:1]  ²² tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”

[28:1]  ²³ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[28:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[31:3]  ²⁵ sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[31:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the Lord’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.)

[31:3]  ²⁷ tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[31:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “bring me out.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form expresses the psalmist’s confidence about the future. Another option is to take the form as expressing a prayer, “free me.”

[31:1]  ²⁹ sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.

[31:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”

[2:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.

[2:1]  ³² tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.

[2:1]  ³³ tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.

[2:1]  ³⁴ tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).

[2:1]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).

[2:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.

[9:25]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:25]  ³⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁴⁰ tc The phrase “discipline your children” is disputed. The LXX and Vulgate suppose זְרוֹעַ (zÿroa’, “arm”) for the MT זֶרַע (zera’, “seed”; hence, “children”). Then, for the MT גֹעֵר (go’er, “rebuking”) the same versions suggest גָּרַע (gara’, “take away”). The resulting translation is “I am about to take away your arm” (cf. NAB “deprive you of the shoulder”). However, this reading is unlikely. It is common for a curse (v. 2) to fall on offspring (see, e.g., Deut 28:18, 32, 41, 53, 55, 57), but a curse never takes the form of a broken or amputated arm. It is preferable to retain the reading of the MT here.

[2:3]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew term פֶרֶשׁ (feresh, “offal”) refers to the entrails as ripped out in preparing a sacrificial victim (BDB 831 s.v. פֶּרֶשׁ). This graphic term has been variously translated: “dung” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NLT); “refuse” (NKJV, NASB); “offal” (NEB, NIV).

[2:3]  ⁴² sn See Zech 3:3-4 for similar coarse imagery which reflects cultic disqualification.

[2:4]  ⁴³ sn My covenant refers to the priestly covenant through Aaron and his grandson Phinehas (see Exod 6:16-20; Num 25:10-13; Jer 33:21-22). The point here is to contrast the priestly ideal with the disgraceful manner in which it was being carried out in postexilic times.