Discovery BoxPsalms 5:9
Context5:9 For 1 they do not speak the truth; 2
their stomachs are like the place of destruction, 3
their throats like an open grave, 4
their tongues like a steep slope leading into it. 5
Psalms 42:11
Context42:11 Why are you depressed, 6 O my soul? 7
Why are you upset? 8
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 9
Psalms 43:5
Context43:5 Why are you depressed, 10 O my soul? 11
Why are you upset? 12
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 13
Psalms 85:8
Context85:8 I will listen to what God the Lord says. 14
For he will make 15 peace with his people, his faithful followers. 16
Yet they must not 17 return to their foolish ways.
[5:9] 2 tn Heb “for there is not in his mouth truthfulness.” The singular pronoun (“his”) probably refers back to the “man of bloodshed and deceit” mentioned in v. 6. The singular is collective or representative, as the plural in the next line indicates, and so has been translated “they.”
[5:9] 3 tn Heb “their inward part[s] [is] destruction.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse.
[5:9] 4 tn Heb “their throat is an open grave.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse. The metaphor is suggested by the physical resemblance of the human throat to a deeply dug grave; both are dark chasms.
[5:9] 5 tn Heb “they make smooth their tongue.” Flattering, deceitful words are in view. See Ps 12:2. The psalmist’s deceitful enemies are compared to the realm of death/Sheol in v. 9b. Sheol was envisioned as a dark region within the earth, the entrance to which was the grave with its steep slopes (cf. Ps 88:4-6). The enemies’ victims are pictured here as slipping down a steep slope (the enemies’ tongues) and falling into an open grave (their throat) that terminates in destruction in the inner recesses of Sheol (their stomach). The enemies’ קרב (“inward part”) refers here to their thoughts and motives, which are destructive in their intent. The throat is where these destructive thoughts are transformed into words, and their tongue is what they use to speak the deceitful words that lead their innocent victims to their demise.
[42:11] 6 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[42:11] 7 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[42:11] 8 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
[42:11] 9 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.
[43:5] 11 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[43:5] 12 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[43:5] 13 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
[43:5] 14 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.
[85:8] 16 sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
[85:8] 17 tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).
[85:8] 18 tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
[85:8] 19 tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (’el), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.
