Psalms 55:12-14

55:12 Indeed, ¹  it is not an enemy who insults me,

or else I could bear it;

it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, ² 

or else I could hide from him.

55:13 But it is you, ³  a man like me, ⁴ 

my close friend in whom I confided. ⁵ 

55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; ⁶ 

in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.

Psalms 55:20-22

55:20 He ⁷  attacks ⁸  his friends; ⁹ 

he breaks his solemn promises to them. ¹⁰ 

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ¹¹ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ¹² 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ¹³ 

55:22 Throw your burden ¹⁴  upon the Lord,

and he will sustain you. ¹⁵ 

He will never allow the godly to be upended. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 55:2

55:2 Pay attention to me and answer me!

I am so upset ¹⁷  and distressed, ¹⁸  I am beside myself, ¹⁹ 

Psalms 15:1

Psalm 15 ²⁰ 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ²¹ 

Who may live on your holy hill? ²² 

Job 19:19

19:19 All my closest friends ²³  detest me;

and those whom ²⁴  I love have turned against me. ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 20:10

20:10 I ²⁶  hear many whispering words of intrigue against me.

Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! ²⁷ 

They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” ²⁸ 

All my so-called friends ²⁹  are just watching for

something that would lead to my downfall. ³⁰ 

They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up,

so we can prevail over ³¹  him and get our revenge on him.

[55:12]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[55:12]  ² tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.

[55:13]  ³ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

[55:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

[55:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

[55:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.

[55:20]  ⁷ sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.

[55:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”

[55:20]  ⁹ tc The form should probably be emended to an active participle (שֹׁלְמָיו, sholÿmayv) from the verbal root שָׁלַם (shalam, “be in a covenant of peace with”). Perhaps the translation “his friends” suggests too intimate a relationship. Another option is to translate, “he attacks those who made agreements with him.”

[55:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”

[55:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ¹² tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[55:22]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

[55:22]  ¹⁵ tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.

[55:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”

[55:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.

[55:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in my complaint.”

[55:2]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (vÿ’ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (vÿ’ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).

[15:1]  ²⁰ sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.

[15:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ²² sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[19:19]  ²³ tn Heb “men of my confidence,” or “men of my council,” i.e., intimate friends, confidants.

[19:19]  ²⁴ tn The pronoun זֶה (zeh) functions here in the place of a nominative (see GKC 447 §138.h).

[19:19]  ²⁵ tn T. Penar translates this “turn away from me” (“Job 19,19 in the Light of Ben Sira 6,11,” Bib 48 [1967]: 293-95).

[20:10]  ²⁶ tn It would be difficult to render accurately the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this verse without lengthening the English line unduly. It probably means something like “This is true even though I…,” i.e., the particle is concessive (cf. BDB s.v. כִּי 2.c). No other nuance seems appropriate. The particle is left out of the translation, but its presence is acknowledged here.

[20:10]  ²⁷ tn The phrase translated “Those who would cause me terror are everywhere” has already occurred in 6:25 in the context of the terror caused by the enemy from the north and in 20:3 in reference to the curse pronounced on Pashhur who would experience it first hand. Some have seen the phrase here not as Jeremiah’s ejaculation of terror but of his assailant’s taunts of his message or even their taunting nickname for him. But comparison of this passage with the first two lines of Ps 31:13 (31:14 HT) which are word for word the same as these two will show that it refers to the terror inspired by the plots of his enemies to do away with him. It is also clear from the context of that passage and the following context here that the “whispering of many” (the literal translation of “many whispering words of intrigue against me) refers to intrigues to take vengeance on him and do away with him.

[20:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Denounce and let us denounce him.” The verb which is translated “denounce” (נָגַד, nagad) does not take an accusative object of person as it does here very often. When it does it usually means to inform someone. The only relevant passage appears to be Job 17:5 where it means something like “denounce.” What is probably involved here are the attempts to portray Jeremiah as a traitor (Jer 26:10) and a false prophet (see his conflict with Hananiah in Jer 28).

[20:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the men of my peace [who are concerned about my welfare].” For this phrase compare Ps 41:9 (41:10 HT); Jer 38:22. It is generally agreed that irony is being invoked here, hence “so-called” is supplied in the translation to bring out the irony.

[20:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “watching my stumbling [for me to stumble].” Metaphorically they were watching for some slip-up that would lead to his downfall. Compare the use in Pss 35:15 and 38:17 (38:18 HT).

[20:10]  ³¹ tn All the text says literally is “Perhaps he can be enticed so that we can prevail over him.” However the word “enticed” needs some qualification. As W. McKane (Jeremiah [ICC], 1:479) notes it should probably be read in the context of the “stumbling” (= “something that would lead to my downfall”). Hence “slipping up” has been supplied as an object. It is vague enough to avoid specifics as the original text does but suggests some reference to “something that would lead to my downfall.”