Psalms 55:11

55:11 Disaster is within it;

violence ¹  and deceit do not depart from its public square.

Psalms 46:5

46:5 God lives within it, ²  it cannot be moved. ³ 

God rescues it ⁴  at the break of dawn. ⁵ 

Psalms 55:10

55:10 Day and night they walk around on its walls, ⁶ 

while wickedness and destruction ⁷  are within it.

[55:11]  ¹ tn Or “injury, harm.”

[46:5]  ² tn Heb “God [is] within her.” The feminine singular pronoun refers to the city mentioned in v. 4.

[46:5]  ³ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “it will not be upended.” Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense. The verb מוֹט (mot), translated “upended” here, is used in v. 2 of the mountains “tumbling” into the seas and in v. 6 of nations being “upended.” By way of contrast, Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, is secure and immune from such turmoil and destruction.

[46:5]  ⁴ tn Or “helps her.” The imperfect draws attention to the generalizing character of the statement.

[46:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the turning of morning.” (For other uses of the expression see Exod 14:27 and Judg 19:26).

[55:10]  ³ tn Heb “day and night they surround it, upon its walls.” Personified “violence and conflict” are the likely subjects. They are compared to watchmen on the city’s walls.

[55:10]  ⁴ sn Wickedness and destruction. These terms are also closely associated in Ps 7:14.