Psalms 58:4

58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake, ¹ 

like a deaf serpent ²  that does not hear, ³ 

Psalms 58:8

58:8 Let them be ⁴  like a snail that melts away as it moves along! ⁵ 

Let them be like ⁶  stillborn babies ⁷  that never see the sun!

Psalms 61:6

61:6 Give the king long life!

Make his lifetime span several generations! ⁸ 

Psalms 63:5

63:5 As if with choice meat ⁹  you satisfy my soul. ¹⁰ 

My mouth joyfully praises you, ¹¹ 

Psalms 79:5

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ¹² 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ¹³  burn like fire?

Psalms 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ¹⁴ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

Psalms 90:9

90:9 Yes, ¹⁵  throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; ¹⁶ 

the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 92:7

92:7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,

and all the evildoers glisten, ¹⁸ 

it is so that they may be annihilated. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 102:3

102:3 For my days go up in smoke, ²⁰ 

and my bones are charred like a fireplace. ²¹ 

Psalms 140:3

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ²² 

a viper’s ²³  venom is behind ²⁴  their lips. (Selah)

[58:4]  ¹ tn Heb “[there is] venom to them according to the likeness of venom of a snake.”

[58:4]  ² tn Or perhaps “cobra” (cf. NASB, NIV). Other suggested species of snakes are “asp” (NEB) and “adder” (NRSV).

[58:4]  ³ tn Heb “[that] stops up its ear.” The apparent Hiphil jussive verbal form should be understood as a Qal imperfect with “i” theme vowel (see GKC 168 §63.n).

[58:8]  ⁴ tn There is no “to be” verb in the Hebrew text at this point, but a jussive tone can be assumed based on vv. 6-7.

[58:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “like a melting snail [that] moves along.” A. Cohen (Psalms [SoBB], 184) explains that the text here alludes “to the popular belief that the slimy trail which the snail leaves in its track is the dissolution of its substance.”

[58:8]  ⁶ tn The words “let them be like” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The jussive mood is implied from the preceding context, and “like” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[58:8]  ⁷ tn This rare word also appears in Job 3:16 and Eccles 6:3.

[61:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “days upon days of the king add, his years like generation and generation.”

[63:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”

[63:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “me.”

[63:5]  ¹² tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”

[79:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “jealous anger.”

[89:46]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[90:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “for.”

[90:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all our days pass by in your anger.”

[90:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “we finish our years like a sigh.” In Ezek 2:10 the word הֶגֶה (hegeh) elsewhere refers to a grumbling or moaning sound. Here a brief sigh or moan is probably in view. If so, the simile pictures one’s lifetime as transient. Another option is that the simile alludes to the weakness that characteristically overtakes a person at the end of one’s lifetime. In this case the phrase could be translated, “we end our lives with a painful moan.”

[92:7]  ²² tn Or “flourish.”

[92:7]  ²³ tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”

[102:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”

[102:3]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.

[140:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

[140:3]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “under.”