Psalms 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ¹  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ² 

Psalms 59:11

59:11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,

because then my people might forget the lesson. ³ 

Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,

O Lord who shields us! ⁴ 

Psalms 62:4

62:4 They ⁵  spend all their time planning how to bring him ⁶  down. ⁷ 

They love to use deceit; ⁸ 

they pronounce blessings with their mouths,

but inwardly they utter curses. ⁹  (Selah)

Psalms 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ¹⁰ 

Do not reject me, ¹¹ 

or I will join ¹²  those descending into the grave. ¹³ 

Psalms 146:8

146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.

The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. ¹⁴ 

The Lord loves the godly.

[37:14]  ¹ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ² tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[59:11]  ³ tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”

[59:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”

[62:4]  ⁵ tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ⁶ tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”

[62:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”

[62:4]  ⁹ sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.

[143:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.

[146:8]  ⁹ tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).