Psalms 37:36

37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared! ¹ 

I looked for them, but they could not be found.

Psalms 73:7

73:7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong; ² 

their thoughts are sinful. ³ 

Psalms 78:59

78:59 God heard and was angry;

he completely rejected Israel.

Psalms 78:62

78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,

and was angry with his chosen nation. ⁴ 

Psalms 88:16

88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; ⁵ 

your terrors destroy me.

Psalms 119:37

119:37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless! ⁶ 

Revive me with your word! ⁷ 

Psalms 124:5

124:5 The raging water

would have overwhelmed us. ⁸ 

Psalms 136:14

136:14 and led Israel through its midst,

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 144:4

144:4 People ⁹  are like a vapor,

their days like a shadow that disappears. ¹⁰ 

[37:36]  ¹ tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).

[73:7]  ² tc The MT reads “it goes out from fatness their eye,” which might be paraphrased, “their eye protrudes [or “bulges”] because of fatness.” This in turn might refer to their greed; their eyes “bug out” when they see rich food or produce (the noun חֵלֶב [khelev, “fatness”] sometimes refers to such food or produce). However, when used with the verb יָצָא (yatsa’, “go out”) the preposition מִן (“from”) more naturally indicates source. For this reason it is preferable to emend עֵינֵמוֹ (’enemo, “their eye”) to עֲוֹנָמוֹ, (’avonamo, “their sin”) and read, “and their sin proceeds forth from fatness,” that is, their prosperity gives rise to their sinful attitudes. If one follows this textual reading, another interpretive option is to take חֵלֶב (“fatness”) in the sense of “unreceptive, insensitive” (see its use in Ps 17:10). In this case, the sin of the wicked proceeds forth from their spiritual insensitivity.

[73:7]  ³ tn Heb “the thoughts of [their] heart [i.e., mind] cross over” (i.e., violate God’s moral boundary, see Ps 17:3).

[78:62]  ³ tn Heb “his inheritance.”

[88:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “passes over me.”

[119:37]  ⁵ tn Heb “Make my eyes pass by from looking at what is worthless.”

[119:37]  ⁶ tn Heb “by your word.”

[124:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “then they would have passed over our being, the raging waters.”

[144:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “man,” or “mankind.”

[144:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “his days [are] like a shadow that passes away,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.