Psalms 5:6

5:6 You destroy ¹  liars; ² 

the Lord despises ³  violent and deceitful people. ⁴ 

Psalms 9:17

9:17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol; ⁵ 

this is the destiny of ⁶  all the nations that ignore ⁷  God,

Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ⁸  down to the deep Pit. ⁹ 

Violent and deceitful people ¹⁰  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ¹¹ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalms 64:7

64:7 But God will shoot ¹²  at them;

suddenly they will be ¹³  wounded by an arrow. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 94:23

94:23 He will pay them back for their sin. ¹⁵ 

He will destroy them because of ¹⁶  their evil;

the Lord our God will destroy them.

Isaiah 11:4

11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, ¹⁷ 

and make right decisions ¹⁸  for the downtrodden of the earth. ¹⁹ 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, ²⁰ 

and order the wicked to be executed. ²¹ 

[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.

[9:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked turn back to Sheol.” The imperfect verbal form either emphasizes what typically happens or describes vividly the aftermath of the Lord’s victory over the psalmist’s enemies. See v. 3.

[9:17]  ⁶ tn The words “this is the destiny of” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The verb “are turned back” is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “forget.” “Forgetting God” refers here to worshiping false gods and thereby refusing to recognize his sovereignty (see also Deut 8:19; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; Isa 17:10; Jer 3:21; Ps 44:20). The nations’ refusal to acknowledge God’s sovereignty accounts for their brazen attempt to attack and destroy his people.

[55:23]  ⁸ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[64:7]  ¹² tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive is normally used in narrative contexts to describe completed past actions. It is possible that the conclusion to the psalm (vv. 7-10) was added to the lament after God’s judgment of the wicked in response to the psalmist’s lament (vv. 1-6). The translation assumes that these verses are anticipatory and express the psalmist’s confidence that God would eventually judge the wicked. The psalmist uses a narrative style as a rhetorical device to emphasize his certitude. See GKC 329-30 §111.w.

[64:7]  ¹³ tn The perfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s certitude about the coming demise of the wicked.

[64:7]  ¹⁴ tn The translation follows the traditional accentuation of the MT. Another option is to translate, “But God will shoot them down with an arrow, suddenly they will be wounded” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[94:23]  ¹⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive is used in a rhetorical sense, describing an anticipated development as if it were already reality.

[94:23]  ¹⁶ tn Or “in.”

[11:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[11:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”

[11:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “land” (NAB, NCV, CEV). It is uncertain if the passage is picturing universal dominion or focusing on the king’s rule over his covenant people. The reference to God’s “holy mountain” in v. 9 and the description of renewed Israelite conquests in v. 14 suggest the latter, though v. 10 seems to refer to a universal kingdom (see 2:2-4).

[11:4]  ²⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he will strike the earth with the scepter of his mouth.” Some have suggested that in this context אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) as an object of judgment seems too broad in scope. The parallelism is tighter if one emends the word to ץ(י)עָרִ (’arits, “potentate, tyrant”). The phrase “scepter of his mouth” refers to the royal (note “scepter”) decrees that he proclaims with his mouth. Because these decrees will have authority and power (see v. 2) behind them, they can be described as “striking” the tyrants down. Nevertheless, the MT reading may not need emending. Isaiah refers to the entire “earth” as the object of God’s judgment in several places without specifying the wicked as the object of the judgment (Isa 24:17-21; 26:9, 21; 28:22; cf. 13:11).

[11:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “and by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.” The “breath of his lips” refers to his speech, specifically in this context his official decrees that the wicked oppressors be eliminated from his realm. See the preceding note.