Psalms 7:5

7:5 may an enemy relentlessly chase ¹  me ²  and catch me; ³ 

may he trample me to death ⁴ 

and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. ⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 18:42

18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; ⁶ 

I beat them underfoot ⁷  like clay ⁸  in the streets.

Psalms 22:15

22:15 The roof of my mouth ⁹  is as dry as a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to my gums. ¹⁰ 

You ¹¹  set me in the dust of death. ¹² 

Psalms 30:9

30:9 “What ¹³  profit is there in taking my life, ¹⁴ 

in my descending into the Pit? ¹⁵ 

Can the dust of the grave ¹⁶  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ¹⁷ 

Psalms 102:14

102:14 Indeed, ¹⁸  your servants take delight in her stones,

and feel compassion for ¹⁹  the dust of her ruins. ²⁰ 

Psalms 104:29

104:29 When you ignore them, they panic. ²¹ 

When you take away their life’s breath, they die

and return to dust.

[7:5]  ¹ tn The vocalization of the verb form seems to be a mixture of Qal and Piel (see GKC 168 §63.n). The translation assumes the Piel, which would emphasize the repetitive nature of the action. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a jussive. The psalmist is so certain that he is innocent of the sins mentioned in vv. 3-4, he pronounces an imprecation on himself for rhetorical effect.

[7:5]  ² tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[7:5]  ³ tn Heb “and may he overtake.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. The object “me,” though unexpressed, is understood from the preceding statement.

[7:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and may he trample down to the earth my life.”

[7:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my honor in the dust may he cause to dwell.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. Some emend כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy, “my honor”) to כְבֵדִי (khÿvediy, “my liver” as the seat of life), but the term כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy) is to be retained since it probably refers to the psalmist’s dignity or honor.

[18:42]  ⁶ tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”

[18:42]  ⁷ tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.

[18:42]  ⁸ tn Or “mud.”

[22:15]  ¹¹ tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.

[22:15]  ¹² tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”

[22:15]  ¹³ sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).

[22:15]  ¹⁴ sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.

[30:9]  ¹⁶ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ²⁰ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[102:14]  ²¹ tn Or “for.”

[102:14]  ²² tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.

[102:14]  ²³ tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.

[104:29]  ²⁶ tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”