Psalm 75–76

Footnotes

1. 51 Psalm 75. The psalmist celebrates God’s just rule, which guarantees that the godly will be vindicated and the wicked destroyed.
2. 52 Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57–59.
3. 1 Heb “and near [is] your name.”
4. 2 The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in vv. 2–3.
5. 3 Heb “when I take an appointed time.”
6. 4 Heb “I, [in] fairness, I judge.” The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically executes fair judgment as he governs the world. One could take this as referring to an anticipated (future) judgment, “I will judge.”
7. 5 Heb “melt.”
8. 6 The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically prevents the world from being overrun by chaos. One could take this as referring to an anticipated event, “I will make its pillars secure.”
9. 7 The identity of the speaker in vv. 4–6 is unclear. The present translation assumes that the psalmist, who also speaks in vv. 7–9 (where God/the Lord is spoken of in the third person) here addresses the proud and warns them of God’s judgment. The presence of כִּי (ki, “for”) at the beginning of both vv. 6–7 seems to indicate that vv. 4–9 are a unit. However, there is no formal indication of a new speaker in v. 4 (or in v. 10, where God appears to speak). Another option is to see God speaking in vv. 2–6 and v. 10 and to take only vv. 7–9 as the words of the psalmist. In this case one must interpret כִּי at the beginning of v. 7 in an asseverative or emphatic sense (“surely; indeed”).
10. 8 Heb “do not lift up a horn.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Here the idiom seems to refer to an arrogant attitude that assumes victory has been achieved.
11. 9 Heb “do not lift up on high your horn.”
12. 10 Heb “[do not] speak with unrestrained neck.” The negative particle is understood in this line by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The image behind the language of vv. 4–5 is that of a powerful wild ox that confidently raises its head before its enemies.
13. 11 Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4–5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.
14. 12 Or “judges.”
15. 13 The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.
16. 14 Heb “for a cup [is] in the hand of the Lord, and wine foams, it is full of a spiced drink.” The noun מֶסֶךְ (mesekh) refers to a “mixture” of wine and spices.
17. 15 Heb “and he pours out from this.”
18. 16 Heb “surely its dregs they slurp up and drink, all the wicked of the earth.” The psalmist pictures God as forcing the wicked to gulp down an intoxicating drink that will leave them stunned and vulnerable. Divine judgment is also depicted this way in Ps 60:3; Isa 51:17–23; and Hab 2:16.
19. 17 Heb “I will declare forever.” The object needs to be supplied; God’s just judgment is in view.
20. 18 The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in v. 10.
21. 19 Heb “and all the horns of the wicked I will cut off, the horns of the godly will be lifted up.” The imagery of the wild ox’s horn is once more utilized (see vv. 4–5).
22. 20 Psalm 76. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior who destroys Israel’s enemies.
23. 1 Or “God is known in Judah.”
24. 2 Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
25. 3 Salem is a shorter name for Jerusalem (see Gen 14:18).
26. 4 Heb “and his place of refuge is in Salem, and his lair in Zion.” God may be likened here to a lion (see v. 4).
27. 5 Heb “flames of the bow,” i.e., arrows.
28. 6 Heb “shield and sword and battle.” “Battle” probably here stands by metonymy for the weapons of war in general. This verse may allude to the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians in 701 b.c. (see Isa 36–37).
29. 7 Heb “radiant [are] you, majestic from the hills of prey.” God is depicted as a victorious king and as a lion that has killed its victims.
30. 8 Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).
31. 9 The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).
32. 10 Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: “cast into a deep sleep”; “fall senseless”; “lie still”; “lay stunned.”
33. 11 Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”
34. 12 Heb “from your shout.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 18:15; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
35. 13 Or “chariot,” but even so the term is metonymic for the charioteer.
36. 14 Heb “he fell asleep, and [the] chariot and [the] horse.” Once again (see v. 5) “sleep” refers here to the “sleep” of death.
37. 15 Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).
38. 16 Heb “a [legal] decision,” or “sentence.”
39. 17 “The earth” stands here by metonymy for its inhabitants.
40. 18 Or “for.”
41. 19 Heb “the anger of men will praise you.” This could mean that men’s anger (subjective genitive), when punished by God, will bring him praise, but this interpretation does not harmonize well with the next line. The translation assumes that God’s anger is in view here (see v. 7) and that “men” is an objective genitive. God’s angry judgment against men brings him praise because it reveals his power and majesty (see vv. 1–4).
42. 20 Heb “the rest of anger you put on.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear. Perhaps the idea is that God, as he prepares for battle, girds himself with every last ounce of his anger, as if it were a weapon.
43. 21 The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.
44. 22 Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.
45. 23 Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”