Psalms 48:9

48:9 We reflect on your loyal love, O God,

within your temple.

Psalms 78:28

78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,

all around their homes.

Psalms 74:4

74:4 Your enemies roar ¹  in the middle of your sanctuary; ² 

they set up their battle flags. ³ 

Psalms 74:12

74:12 But God has been my ⁴  king from ancient times,

performing acts of deliverance on the earth. ⁵ 

Psalms 110:2

110:2 The Lord ⁶  extends ⁷  your dominion ⁸  from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Psalms 27:2

27:2 When evil men attack me ⁹ 

to devour my flesh, ¹⁰ 

when my adversaries and enemies attack me, ¹¹ 

they stumble and fall. ¹² 

Psalms 82:1

Psalm 82 ¹³ 

A psalm of Asaph.

82:1 God stands in ¹⁴  the assembly of El; ¹⁵ 

in the midst of the gods ¹⁶  he renders judgment. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 101:2

101:2 I will walk in ¹⁸  the way of integrity.

When will you come to me?

I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 101:7

101:7 Deceitful people will not live in my palace. ²⁰ 

Liars will not be welcome in my presence. ²¹ 

Psalms 138:7

138:7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, ²²  you revive me.

You oppose my angry enemies, ²³ 

and your right hand delivers me.

Psalms 36:1

Psalm 36 ²⁴ 

For the music director; written by the Lord’s servant, David; an oracle. ²⁵ 

36:1 An evil man is rebellious to the core. ²⁶ 

He does not fear God, ²⁷ 

[74:4]  ¹ tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.

[74:4]  ² tn Heb “your meeting place.”

[74:4]  ³ tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).

[74:12]  ¹ tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.

[74:12]  ² tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”

[110:2]  ¹ tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

[110:2]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

[110:2]  ³ tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

[27:2]  ¹ tn Heb “draw near to me.”

[27:2]  ² sn To devour my flesh. The psalmist compares his enemies to dangerous, hungry predators (see 2 Kgs 9:36; Ezek 39:17).

[27:2]  ³ tn Heb “my adversaries and my enemies against me.” The verb “draw near” (that is, “attack”) is understood by ellipsis; see the previous line.

[27:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verbal forms are perfects. The translation assumes the psalmist is generalizing here, but another option is to take this as a report of past experience, “when evil men attacked me…they stumbled and fell.”

[82:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.

[82:1]  ² tn Or “presides over.”

[82:1]  ³ tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.

[82:1]  ⁴ sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).

[82:1]  ⁵ sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).

[101:2]  ¹ tn Heb “take notice of.”

[101:2]  ² tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”

[101:7]  ¹ tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.”

[101:7]  ² tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”

[138:7]  ¹ tn Or “distress.”

[138:7]  ² tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”

[36:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 36. Though evil men plan to harm others, the psalmist is confident that the Lord is the just ruler of the earth who gives and sustains all life. He prays for divine blessing and protection and anticipates God’s judgment of the wicked.

[36:1]  ² tn In the Hebrew text the word נאם (“oracle”) appears at the beginning of the next verse (v. 2 in the Hebrew text because the superscription is considered v. 1). The resulting reading, “an oracle of rebellion for the wicked [is] in the midst of my heart” (cf. NIV) apparently means that the psalm, which foresees the downfall of the wicked, is a prophetic oracle about the rebellion of the wicked which emerges from the soul of the psalmist. One could translate, “Here is a poem written as I reflected on the rebellious character of evil men.” Another option, followed in the translation above, is to attach נאם (nÿ’um, “oracle”) with the superscription. For another example of a Davidic poem being labeled an “oracle,” see 2 Sam 23:1.

[36:1]  ³ tn Heb “[the] rebellion of an evil man [is] in the midst of my heart.” The translation assumes a reading “in the midst of his heart” (i.e., “to the core”) instead of “in the midst of my heart,” a change which finds support in a a few medieval Hebrew mss, the Hebrew text of Origen’s Hexapla, and the Syriac.

[36:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “there is no dread of God before his eyes.” The phrase “dread of God” refers here to a healthy respect for God which recognizes that he will punish evil behavior.