Psalms 49:10

49:10 Surely ¹  one sees ²  that even wise people die; ³ 

fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away ⁴ 

and leave their wealth to others. ⁵ 

Psalms 64:5

64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. ⁶ 

They plan how to hide ⁷  snares,

and boast, ⁸  “Who will see them?” ⁹ 

Psalms 84:7

84:7 They are sustained as they travel along; ¹⁰ 

each one appears ¹¹  before God in Zion.

Psalms 89:48

89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. ¹²  (Selah)

Psalms 112:10

112:10 When the wicked ¹³  see this, they will worry;

they will grind their teeth in frustration ¹⁴  and melt away;

the desire of the wicked will perish. ¹⁵ 

[49:10]  ¹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is understood here as asseverative (emphatic).

[49:10]  ² tn The subject of the verb is probably the typical “man” mentioned in v. 7. The imperfect can be taken here as generalizing or as indicating potential (“surely he/one can see”).

[49:10]  ³ tn The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to what is characteristically true. The vav (ו) consecutive with perfect in the third line carries the same force.

[49:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “together a fool and a brutish [man] perish.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 73:22; 92:6; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[49:10]  ⁵ sn Death shows no respect for anyone. No matter how wise or foolish an individual happens to be, all pass away.

[64:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”

[64:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “they report about hiding.”

[64:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “they say.”

[64:5]  ⁹ tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).

[84:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.

[84:7]  ¹² tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one” ) sense.

[89:48]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[112:10]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the singular; the representative wicked individual is in view as typifying the group (note the use of the plural form in v. 10).

[112:10]  ²² tn Heb “his teeth he will gnash.” In Pss 35:16 and 37:12 this action is associated with a vicious attack.

[112:10]  ²³ tn This could mean that the desires of the wicked will go unfulfilled. Another possibility is that “desire” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired. In this case the point is that the wicked will lose what they desired so badly and acquired by evil means (see Ps 10:3).