Psalm 139:22-24

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 139:22 tn Heb “[with] completeness of hatred I hate them.”
2. Psalm 139:23 tn Heb “and know my heart.”
3. Psalm 139:23 tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sarʿappay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.
4. Psalm 139:24 tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (ʿotsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ʿotsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.
5. Psalm 139:24 tn Or “in the ancient path.” This phrase may refer to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.