Psalms 57:4

57:4 I am surrounded by lions;

I lie down ¹  among those who want to devour me; ² 

men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are a sharp sword. ³ 

Psalms 68:13

68:13 When ⁴  you lie down among the sheepfolds, ⁵ 

the wings of the dove are covered with silver

and with glittering gold. ⁶ 

Psalms 133:3

133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, ⁷ 

which flows down upon the hills of Zion. ⁸ 

Indeed ⁹  that is where the Lord has decreed

a blessing will be available – eternal life. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 143:3

143:3 Certainly ¹¹  my enemies ¹²  chase me.

They smash me into the ground. ¹³ 

They force me to live ¹⁴  in dark regions, ¹⁵ 

like those who have been dead for ages.

Psalms 144:14

144:14 Our cattle will be weighted down with produce. ¹⁶ 

No one will break through our walls,

no one will be taken captive,

and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 146:9

146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;

he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, ¹⁸ 

but he opposes the wicked. ¹⁹ 

[57:4]  ¹ tn The cohortative form אֶשְׁכְּבָה (’eshkÿvah, “I lie down”) is problematic, for it does not seem to carry one of the normal functions of the cohortative (resolve or request). One possibility is that the form here is a “pseudo-cohortative” used here in a gnomic sense (IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3b).

[57:4]  ² tn The Hebrew verb לָהַט (lahat) is here understood as a hapax legomenon meaning “devour” (see HALOT 521 s.v. II להט), a homonym of the more common verb meaning “to burn.” A more traditional interpretation takes the verb from this latter root and translates, “those who are aflame” (see BDB 529 s.v.; cf. NASB “those who breathe forth fire”).

[57:4]  ³ tn Heb “my life, in the midst of lions, I lie down, devouring ones, sons of mankind, their teeth a spear and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.” The syntax of the verse is difficult. Another option is to take “my life” with the preceding verse. For this to make sense, one must add a verb, perhaps “and may he deliver” (cf. the LXX), before the phrase. One might then translate, “May God send his loyal love and faithfulness and deliver my life.” If one does take “my life” with v. 4, then the parallelism of v. 5 is altered and one might translate: “in the midst of lions I lie down, [among] men who want to devour me, whose teeth….”

[68:13]  ⁴ tn Or “if.”

[68:13]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “sheepfolds” is uncertain. There may be an echo of Judg 5:16 here.

[68:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and her pinions with the yellow of gold.”

[133:3]  ⁷ sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.

[133:3]  ⁸ sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

[133:3]  ⁹ tn Or “for.”

[133:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever.”

[143:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[143:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).

[143:3]  ¹² tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

[143:3]  ¹³ tn Or “sit.”

[143:3]  ¹⁴ sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).

[144:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “weighted down.” This probably refers (1) to the cattle having the produce from the harvest placed on their backs to be transported to the storehouses (see BDB 687 s.v. סָבַל). Other options are (2) to take this as reference to the cattle being pregnant (see HALOT 741 s.v. סבל pu) or (3) to their being well-fed or fattened (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 288).

[144:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “there [will be] no breach, and there [will be] no going out, and there [will be] no crying out in our broad places.”

[146:9]  ¹⁶ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.

[146:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.