Psalms 7:4

7:4 or have wronged my ally, ¹ 

or helped his lawless enemy, ² 

Psalms 34:16

34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers

and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. ³ 

Psalms 49:5

49:5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, ⁴ 

when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me? ⁵ 

Psalms 52:3

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ⁶  (Selah)

Psalms 94:13

94:13 in order to protect him from times of trouble, ⁷ 

until the wicked are destroyed. ⁸ 

Psalms 101:4

101:4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person; ⁹ 

I will not permit ¹⁰  evil.

Psalms 119:101

119:101 I stay away ¹¹  from the evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions. ¹² 

Psalms 121:7

121:7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;

he will protect your life.

[7:4]  ¹ tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.

[7:4]  ² tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.

[34:16]  ³ tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”

[49:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “days of trouble.” The phrase also occurs in Ps 94:13. The question is rhetorical; there is no reason to be afraid when the rich oppressors threaten the weak (see v. 17). The following verses explain why this is so.

[49:5]  ⁶ tc The MT has, “the iniquity of my heels surrounds me.” The clause is best understood as temporal and as elaborating on the preceding phrase “times of trouble.” If the MT is retained, the genitive “of my heels” would probably indicate location (“the iniquity at my heels”); the sinful actions of the rich threaten to overtake the psalmist, as it were. It is better, however, to emend עֲקֵבַי (’aqivay, “my heels”) to either (1) עֲקֻבַּי (’aqubay, “my deceitful ones,” i.e., “those who deceive me” [from the adjective עָקֹב (’aqov), “deceitful,” see Jer 17:9]) or (2) עֹקְבַי (’oqÿvay, “those who deceive me” [a suffixed active participle from עָקַב, ’aqav, “betray, deceive”]). Origen’s transliteration of the Hebrew text favors the first of these options. Either of the emendations provides a much smoother transition to v. 6, because “those who trust in their wealth” would then be appositional to “those who deceive me.”

[52:3]  ⁷ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[94:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “to give him rest from the days of trouble.”

[94:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “until a pit is dug for the wicked.”

[101:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted; crooked” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse (see Ps 18:26). It appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6).

[101:4]  ¹² tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.

[119:101]  ¹³ tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”

[119:101]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural.