Psalms 7:16

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ¹ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ² 

Psalms 54:5

54:5 May those who wait to ambush me ³  be repaid for their evil! ⁴ 

As a demonstration of your faithfulness, ⁵  destroy them!

Psalms 73:10

73:10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat,

and even suck up the water of the sea. ⁶ 

Psalms 78:39

78:39 He remembered ⁷  that they were made of flesh,

and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. ⁸ 

[7:16]  ¹ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ² tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[54:5]  ³ tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.

[54:5]  ⁴ tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.

[54:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”

[73:10]  ⁵ tc Heb “therefore his people return [so Qere (marginal reading); Kethib (consonantal text) has “he brings back”] to here, and waters of abundance are sucked up by them.” The traditional Hebrew text (MT) defies explanation. The present translation reflects M. Dahood’s proposed emendations (Psalms [AB], 2:190) and reads the Hebrew text as follows: לָכֵן יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם וּמֵי מָלֵא יָמֹצּוּ לָמוֹ (“therefore they are filled with food, and waters of abundance they suck up for themselves”). The reading יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם (yisvÿ’um lekhem, “they are filled with food”) assumes (1) an emendation of יָשׁיּב עַמּוֹ (yashyyv, “he will bring back his people”) to יִשְׂבְעוּם (yisvÿ’um, “they will be filled”; a Qal imperfect third masculine plural form from שָׂבַע [sava’] with enclitic mem [ם]), and (2) an emendation of הֲלֹם (halom, “to here”) to לֶחֶם (“food”). The expression “be filled/fill with food” appears elsewhere at least ten times (see Ps 132:15, for example). In the second line the Niphal form יִמָּצוּ (yimmatsu, derived from מָצָה, matsah, “drain”) is emended to a Qal form יָמֹצּוּ (yamotsu), derived from מָצַץ (matsats, “to suck”). In Isa 66:11 the verbs שָׂבַע (sava’; proposed in Ps 73:10a) and מָצַץ (proposed in Ps 73:10b) are parallel. The point of the emended text is this: Because they are seemingly sovereign (v. 9), they become greedy and grab up everything they need and more.

[78:39]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.

[78:39]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”