Psalms 5:6

5:6 You destroy ¹  liars; ² 

the Lord despises ³  violent and deceitful people. ⁴ 

Psalms 9:12

9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; ⁵ 

he did not overlook ⁶  their cry for help ⁷ 

Psalms 26:9

26:9 Do not sweep me away ⁸  with sinners,

or execute me along with violent people, ⁹ 

Psalms 30:9

30:9 “What ¹⁰  profit is there in taking my life, ¹¹ 

in my descending into the Pit? ¹² 

Can the dust of the grave ¹³  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ¹⁴ 

Psalms 51:14

51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, ¹⁵  O God, the God who delivers me!

Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 58:10

58:10 The godly ¹⁷  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Psalms 68:23

68:23 so that your feet may stomp ¹⁸  in their blood,

and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.” ¹⁹ 

Psalms 79:10

79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants

be avenged among the nations! ²⁰ 

[5:6]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates God’s typical response to such individuals. Another option is to translate the verb as future (“You will destroy”); the psalmist may be envisioning a time of judgment when God will remove the wicked from the scene.

[5:6]  ² tn Heb “those who speak a lie.” In the OT a “lie” does not refer in a general philosophical sense to any statement that fails to correspond to reality. Instead it refers more specifically to a slanderous and/or deceitful statement that promotes one’s own selfish, sinful interests and/or exploits or harms those who are innocent. Note the emphasis on violence and deceit in the following line.

[5:6]  ³ tn The imperfect verbal form highlights the Lord’s characteristic attitude toward such individuals.

[5:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “a man of bloodshed and deceit.” The singular אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is used here in a collective or representative sense; thus the translation “people” is appropriate here. Note the plural forms in vv. 5-6a.

[9:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “did not forget.”

[9:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.

[26:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”

[26:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[30:9]  ¹³ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ¹⁷ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[51:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.

[51:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).

[58:10]  ²¹ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[68:23]  ²⁵ tc Some (e.g. NRSV) prefer to emend מָחַץ (makhats, “smash; stomp”; see v. 21) to רָחַץ (rakhats, “bathe”; see Ps 58:10).

[68:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “[and] the tongue of your dogs from [the] enemies [may eat] its portion.”

[79:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”