Psalm 35:1-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 35:1 sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.
2. Psalm 35:1 tn Or “contend.”
3. Psalm 35:2 tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.
4. Psalm 35:3 tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.
5. Psalm 35:3 tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”
6. Psalm 35:3 tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”
7. Psalm 35:4 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies. See also the distinct jussive form in v. 6.
8. Psalm 35:5 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.
9. Psalm 35:5 sn See the mention of the angel of the Lord in Ps 34:7.
10. Psalm 35:5 tn Heb “as the angel of the Lord pushes [them].”
11. Psalm 35:6 tn The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer.
12. Psalm 35:7 tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).