Psalms 44:10

44:10 You made us retreat ¹  from the enemy.

Those who hate us take whatever they want from us. ² 

Psalms 65:3

65:3 Our record of sins overwhelms me, ³ 

but you forgive ⁴  our acts of rebellion.

Psalms 78:2

78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;

I will make insightful observations about the past. ⁵ 

Psalms 139:19

139:19 If only ⁶  you would kill the wicked, O God!

Get away from me, you violent men! ⁷ 

[44:10]  ¹ tn Heb “you caused us to turn backward.”

[44:10]  ² tn Heb “plunder for themselves.” The prepositional phrase לָמוֹ (lamo, “for themselves”) here has the nuance “at their will” or “as they please” (see Ps 80:6).

[65:3]  ³ tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”

[65:3]  ⁴ tn Or “make atonement for.”

[78:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).

[139:19]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).

[139:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”