Psalms 94:9

94:9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?

Does the one who forms the human eye not see? ¹ 

Psalms 85:6

85:6 Will you not revive us once more?

Then your people will rejoice in you!

Psalms 94:10

94:10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?

He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!

Psalms 108:11

108:11 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

Psalms 14:4

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ²  do not understand – ³ 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

Psalms 44:21

44:21 would not God discover it,

for he knows ⁴  one’s thoughts? ⁵ 

Psalms 53:4

53:4 All those who behave wickedly ⁶  do not understand ⁷  –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

Psalms 56:8

56:8 You keep track of my misery. ⁸ 

Put my tears in your leather container! ⁹ 

Are they not recorded in your scroll? ¹⁰ 

Psalms 60:10

60:10 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

Psalms 54:1

Psalm 54 ¹¹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ¹²  by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.” ¹³ 

54:1 O God, deliver me by your name! ¹⁴ 

Vindicate me ¹⁵  by your power!

Psalms 56:13

56:13 when you deliver ¹⁶  my life from death.

You keep my feet from stumbling, ¹⁷ 

so that I might serve ¹⁸  God as I enjoy life. ¹⁹ 

[94:9]  ¹ tn Heb “The one who plants an ear, does he not hear? The one who forms an eye, does he not see?”

[14:4]  ² tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ³ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).

[44:21]  ³ tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.

[44:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “would not God search out this, for he knows the hidden things of [the] heart?” The expression “search out” is used metonymically here, referring to discovery, the intended effect of a search. The “heart” (i.e., mind) is here viewed as the seat of one’s thoughts. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he would!” The point seems to be this: There is no way the Israelites who are the speakers in the psalm would reject God and turn to another god, for the omniscient God would easily discover such a sin.

[53:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”

[53:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).

[56:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “my wandering you count, you.” The Hebrew term נֹד (nod, “wandering,” derived from the verbal root נוֹד, nod, “to wander”; cf. NASB) here refers to the psalmist’s “changeable circumstances of life” and may be translated “misery.” The verb סָפַר (safar, “count”) probably carries the nuance “assess” here. Cf. NIV “my lament”; NRSV “my tossings.”

[56:8]  ⁶ tn Traditionally “your bottle.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20). If such a container is metaphorically in view here, then the psalmist seems to be asking God to store up his tears as a reminder of his suffering.

[56:8]  ⁷ tn The word “recorded” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The rhetorical question assumes a positive response (see the first line of the verse).

[54:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.

[54:1]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[54:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”

[54:1]  ⁹ tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).

[54:1]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[56:13]  ⁷ tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the Lord intervened on the psalmist’s behalf. In this case one may translate, “for you have delivered.” Other options include taking the perfect as (3) generalizing (“for you deliver”) or (4) rhetorical (“for you will”).

[56:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.

[56:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.

[56:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.