Psalms 55:18

55:18 He will rescue ¹  me and protect me from those who attack me, ² 

even though ³  they greatly outnumber me. ⁴ 

Psalms 55:20

55:20 He ⁵  attacks ⁶  his friends; ⁷ 

he breaks his solemn promises to them. ⁸ 

Psalms 78:9

78:9 The Ephraimites ⁹  were armed with bows, ¹⁰ 

but they retreated in the day of battle. ¹¹ 

Psalms 78:30

78:30 They were not yet filled up, ¹² 

their food was still in their mouths,

Psalms 106:16

106:16 In the camp they resented ¹³  Moses,

and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest. ¹⁴ 

[55:18]  ¹ tn The perfect verbal form is here used rhetorically to indicate that the action is certain to take place (the so-called perfect of certitude).

[55:18]  ² tn Heb “he will redeem in peace my life from [those who] draw near to me.”

[55:18]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[55:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “among many they are against me.” For other examples of the preposition עִמָּד (’immad) used in the sense of “at, against,” see HALOT 842 s.v.; BDB 767 s.v.; IBHS 219 §11.2.14b.

[55:20]  ⁵ sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.

[55:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”

[55:20]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”

[78:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.

[78:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (noshÿqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (romey, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (noshÿqey qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.

[78:9]  ¹¹ sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).

[78:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”

[106:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “envied.”

[106:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the holy one of the Lord.”