Psalms 8:5

8:5 and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? ¹ 

You grant mankind ²  honor and majesty; ³ 

Psalms 37:10

37:10 Evil men will soon disappear; ⁴ 

you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone. ⁵ 

Psalms 73:2

73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slid out from under me. ⁶ 

Psalms 81:14

81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,

and attack ⁷  their adversaries.”

Psalms 94:17

94:17 If the Lord had not helped me,

I would have laid down in the silence of death. ⁸ 

Psalms 119:87

119:87 They have almost destroyed me here on the earth,

but I do not reject your precepts.

[8:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and you make him lack a little from [the] gods [or “God”].” The Piel form of חָסַר (khasar, “to decrease, to be devoid”) is used only here and in Eccl 4:8, where it means “to deprive, to cause to be lacking.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive either carries on the characteristic nuance of the imperfect in v. 5b or indicates a consequence (“so that you make him…”) of the preceding statement (see GKC 328 §111.m). Some prefer to make this an independent clause and translate it as a new sentence, “You made him….” In this case the statement might refer specifically to the creation of the first human couple, Adam and Eve (cf. Gen 1:26-27). The psalmist does appear to allude to Gen 1:26-27, where mankind is created in the image of God and his angelic assembly (note “let us make man in our image” in Gen 1:26). However, the psalmist’s statement need not be limited in its focus to that historical event, for all mankind shares the image imparted to the first human couple. Consequently the psalmist can speak in general terms of the exalted nature of mankind. The referent of אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God” or “the heavenly beings”) is unclear. Some understand this as a reference to God alone, but the allusion to Gen 1:26-27 suggests a broader referent, including God and the other heavenly beings (known in other texts as “angels”). The term אֱלֹהִים is also used in this way in Gen 3:5, where the serpent says to the woman, “you will be like the heavenly beings who know good and evil.” (Note Gen 3:22, where God says, “the man has become like one of us.”) Also אֱלֹהִים may refer to the members of the heavenly assembly in Ps 82:1, 6. The LXX (the ancient Greek translation of the OT) reads “angels” in Ps 8:5 (this is the source of the quotation of Ps 8:5 in Heb 2:7).

[8:5]  ² tn Heb “you crown him [with].” The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line describe God’s characteristic activity.

[8:5]  ³ sn Honor and majesty. These terms allude to mankind’s royal status as God’s vice-regents (cf. v. 6 and Gen 1:26-30).

[37:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “and yet, a little, there will be no wicked [one].”

[37:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you will carefully look upon his place, but he will not be [there].” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer is in view.

[73:2]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”

[81:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).

[94:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “If the Lord [were] not my help, quickly my life would have lain down in silence.” The psalmist, perhaps speaking as the nation’s representative, recalls God’s past intervention. For other examples of conditional sentences with the term לוּלֵי (luley, “if not”) in the protasis and a perfect verbal form in the apodosis, see Pss 119:92 and 124:2-5.