Psalms 37:13

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ¹  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ² 

Psalms 53:5

53:5 They are absolutely terrified, ³ 

even by things that do not normally cause fear. ⁴ 

For God annihilates ⁵  those who attack you. ⁶ 

You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them. ⁷ 

Psalms 59:8

59:8 But you, O Lord, laugh in disgust at them; ⁸ 

you taunt ⁹  all the nations.

Psalms 59:2

59:2 Deliver me from evildoers! ¹⁰ 

Rescue me from violent men! ¹¹ 

Psalms 19:1

Psalm 19 ¹² 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; ¹³ 

the sky displays his handiwork. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 1:26

1:26 so ¹⁵  I myself will laugh ¹⁶  when disaster strikes you, ¹⁷ 

I will mock when what you dread ¹⁸  comes,

[37:13]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[53:5]  ³ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror (“absolutely”).

[53:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “there is no fear.” Apparently this means the evildoers are so traumatized with panic (see v. 5b) that they now jump with fear at everything, even those things that would not normally cause fear. Ps 14:5 omits this line.

[53:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “scatters the bones.” The perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. Scattering the bones alludes to the aftermath of a battle. God annihilates his enemies, leaving their carcasses spread all over the battlefield. As the bodies are devoured by wild animals and decay, the bones of God’s dead enemies are exposed. See Ps 141:7.

[53:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “[those who] encamp [against] you.” The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to God’s people viewed as a collective whole. Instead of “for God scatters the bones of those who encamp against you,” Ps 14:5 reads, “for God is with a godly generation.”

[53:5]  ⁷ tn Once again the perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. As in the previous line, God’s people are probably addressed. The second person singular verb form is apparently collective, suggesting that the people are viewed here as a unified whole. Ps 14:6 reads here “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame, even though God is his shelter,” the words being addressed to the wicked.

[59:8]  ⁸ sn Laugh in disgust. See Pss 2:4; 37:13.

[59:8]  ⁹ tn Or “scoff at”; or “deride”; or “mock” (see Ps 2:4).

[59:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the workers of wickedness.”

[59:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from men of bloodshed.”

[19:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.

[19:1]  ¹³ sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.

[19:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.

[1:26]  ¹⁵ tn The conclusion or apodosis is now introduced.

[1:26]  ¹⁶ sn Laughing at the consequences of the fool’s rejection of wisdom does convey hardness against the fool; it reveals the folly of rejecting wisdom (e.g., Ps 2:4). It vindicates wisdom and the appropriateness of the disaster (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 60).

[1:26]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “at your disaster.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is either (1) a genitive of worth: “the disaster due you” or (2) an objective genitive: “disaster strikes you.” The term “disaster” (אֵיד, ’ed) often refers to final life-ending calamity (Prov 6:15; 24:22; BDB 15 s.v. 3). The preposition ב (bet) focuses upon time here.

[1:26]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your dread” (so NASB); KJV “your fear”; NRSV “panic.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is a subjective genitive: “that which you dread.”