Psalms 52:2

52:2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; ¹ 

it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. ² 

Psalms 55:11

55:11 Disaster is within it;

violence ³  and deceit do not depart from its public square.

Psalms 91:3

91:3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter ⁴ 

and from the destructive plague.

Psalms 94:20

94:20 Cruel rulers ⁵  are not your allies,

those who make oppressive laws. ⁶ 

Psalms 5:9

5:9 For ⁷  they do not speak the truth; ⁸ 

their stomachs are like the place of destruction, ⁹ 

their throats like an open grave, ¹⁰ 

their tongues like a steep slope leading into it. ¹¹ 

Psalms 38:12

38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; ¹² 

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

Psalms 57:1

Psalm 57 ¹³ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ¹⁴  a prayer ¹⁵  of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave. ¹⁶ 

57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!

For in you I have taken shelter. ¹⁷ 

In the shadow of your wings ¹⁸  I take shelter

until trouble passes.

[52:2]  ¹ tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”

[52:2]  ² tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (’asah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.

[55:11]  ³ tn Or “injury, harm.”

[91:3]  ⁵ tn The word refers specifically to a fowler (or hunter of birds).

[94:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.

[94:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Or “certainly.”

[5:9]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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.

[38:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lay snares.”

[57:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 57. The psalmist asks for God’s protection and expresses his confidence that his ferocious enemies will be destroyed by their own schemes.

[57:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 58-59, 75.

[57:1]  ¹⁵ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56, 58-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[57:1]  ¹⁶ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when he fled from Saul and hid in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3.

[57:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[57:1]  ¹⁸ sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).