Psalm 56:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 56:5 tn Heb “my affairs they disturb.” For other instances of דָּבָר (davar) meaning “affairs, business,” see BDB 183 s.v.. The Piel of עָצַב (ʿatsav, “to hurt”) occurs only here and in Isa 63:10, where it is used of “grieving” (or “offending”) the Lord’s holy Spirit. Here in Ps 56:5, the verb seems to carry the nuance “disturb, upset,” in the sense of “cause trouble.”
2. Psalm 56:5 tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”
3. Psalm 56:6 tn The verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 59:3.
4. Psalm 56:6 tn Or “hide.”
5. Psalm 56:6 tn Heb “my heels.”
6. Psalm 56:6 tn Heb “according to,” in the sense of “inasmuch as; since,” or “when; while.”
7. Psalm 56:6 tn Heb “they wait [for] my life.”
8. Psalm 56:7 tc Heb “because of wickedness, deliver them.” As it stands, the MT makes no sense. The translation assumes that the negative particle אַיִן (ʾayin, “there is not,”) was lost due to haplography because of its similarity to the immediately preceding אָוֶן (ʾaven, “wickedness”) as suggested by BHS with external support. Also, פַּלֵּט (pallet) is read as the noun “deliverance” instead of as an imperative verb (each has the same form). Even so, the presence of an imperative in the next line (note “bring down”) suggests that this line should be translated as a prayer as well, “may there not be deliverance to them.”
9. Psalm 56:7 tn Heb “in anger.” The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
10. Psalm 56:7 tn Or perhaps “people” in a general sense.