Psalm 59–60

Footnotes

1. 27 Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.
2. 28 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 57–58, 75.
3. 29 The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56–58, 60 is uncertain. defines it as “inscription.”
4. 30 Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.” According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when Saul sent assassins to surround David’s house and kill him in the morning (see 1 Sam 19:11). However, the psalm itself mentions foreign enemies (vv. 5, 8). Perhaps these references reflect a later adaptation of an original Davidic psalm.
5. 1 Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”
6. 2 Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”
7. 3 Heb “from the workers of wickedness.”
8. 4 Heb “from men of bloodshed.”
9. 5 Heb “my life.”
10. 6 The Hebrew verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 56:8.
11. 7 The point is that the psalmist’s enemies have no justifiable reason for attacking him. He has neither rebelled or sinned against the Lord.
12. 8 Heb “without sin.”
13. 9 Heb “they run and they are determined.”
14. 10 Heb “arise to meet me and see.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to meet; to encounter”) here carries the nuance of “to help.”
15. 11 Heb “Lord, God, Hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tséva’ot, “hosts”). See Ps 89:9, but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yéhvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tséva’ot) in Pss 80:4, 19; 84:8 as well.
16. 12 Heb “wake up to punish” (see Pss 35:23; 44:23).
17. 13 Or “howl”; or “bark.”
18. 14 Heb “go around.”
19. 15 Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”
20. 16 The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.
21. 17 Laugh in disgust. See Pss 2:4; 37:13.
22. 18 Or “scoff at”; or “deride”; or “mock” (see Ps 2:4).
23. 19 Heb “his strength, for you I will watch.” “His strength” should be emended to “my strength” (see v. 17). Some also emend אֶשְׁמֹרָה (’eshmorah, “I will watch”) to אֱזַמֵּרָה (’ezammerah, “I will sing praises [to you]”) See v. 17.
24. 20 Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
25. 21 Heb “the God of my [Qere (marginal reading); the Kethib (consonantal text) has “his”] loyal love will meet me.”
26. 22 Heb “will cause me to look upon.”
27. 23 Heb “those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 56:2.
28. 24 Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.” My people might forget the lesson. Swift, sudden destruction might be quickly forgotten. The psalmist wants God’s judgment to be prolonged so that it might be a continual reminder of divine justice.
29. 25 Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”
30. 26 Heb “the sin of their mouth [is] the word of their lips.”
31. 27 Or “howl”; or “bark.”
32. 28 Heb “go around.”
33. 29 Heb “if they are not full, they stay through the night.”
34. 30 Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
35. 31 Heb “and my shelter in the day of my distress.”
36. 32 Heb “my strength, to you I will sing praises.”
37. 33 Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
38. 34 Heb “the God of my loyal love.”
39. 35 Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.
40. 36 The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.
41. 37 The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56–59, is uncertain. defines it as “inscription.”
42. 38 Heb “to teach.”
43. 39 In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.
44. 40 Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).
45. 41 The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.
46. 1 You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.
47. 2 Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”
48. 3 The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
49. 4 The verb פָּצַם (patsam, “split open”) occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “crack,” and an Aramaic cognate is used in with the meaning “break open, frame.” See 822 and 1205 פְּצַם. You made the earth quake; you split it open. The psalmist uses the imagery of an earthquake to describe the nation’s defeat.
50. 5 It is ready to fall. The earth is compared to a wall that has been broken by the force of the earthquake (note the preceding line) and is ready to collapse.
51. 6 Heb “you have caused your people to see [what is] hard.”
52. 7 Heb “wine of staggering,” that is, intoxicating wine that makes one stagger in drunkenness. Intoxicating wine is here an image of divine judgment that makes its victims stagger like drunkards. See Isa 51:17–23.
53. 8 Heb “those who fear you.”
54. 9 There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” ( נוס) or “take flight for oneself” ( 630–31 נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” ( 651 II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” ( II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; 905–6 קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qosht, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. ). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”
55. 10 Heb “right hand.”
56. 11 The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”
57. 12 Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”
58. 13 Heb “in his holy place.”
59. 14 Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Succoth for the region east of the Jordan.
60. 15 Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
61. 16 Heb “the protection of my head.” Ephraim, named after one of Joseph’s sons, was one of two major tribes located west of the Jordan. By comparing Ephraim to a helmet, the Lord suggests that the Ephraimites played a primary role in the defense of his land.
62. 17 Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.
63. 18 The metaphor of the washbasin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 6–7), would be reduced to the status of a servant.
64. 19 Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of,” i.e., “I will take possession of Edom.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.
65. 20 Heb “over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph.” The translation follows the text of Ps 108:9. When the initial עֲלֵיוֹ (’aleyo, “over”) was misread as עָלַי (’alay, “over me”), the first person verb form was probably altered to an imperative to provide better sense to the line.
66. 21 In v. 9 the psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 8, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation (v. 10, see also v. 1).
67. 22 Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”
68. 23 Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 108:13; 118:15–16).
69. 24 Trample down. On this expression see Ps 44:5.