IX. In the LXX. and Vulg., Psalms 9:10 are combined into one. This arrangement appears the more ancient of the two, and possibly is original; for (1) Psalms 10, 33 are the only compositions of the original Davidic collection (Psalms 3-41) without a title. The absence in each case is accounted for in... [ Continue Reading ]
The alphabetic arrangement is begun in its completest form. Every clause of the first stanza begins with _Aleph. _... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN. — Literally, _in the turning of mine enemies back,_ which may be either _when_ they turned, or _because_ they turned, or possibly with both ideas combined. The older versions have _when._ Psalms 9:2 form one sentence, “I will be glad and rejoice in thee ... when mine enemies are turned back, ... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HAST MAINTAINED MY RIGHT. — Literally, _thou hast made my judgment,_ as the LXX. and Vulg. For this confidence in the supreme arbiter of events compare Shakespeare: — “Is this your Christian counsel? Out upon you! Heaven is above all yet. There sits a Judge That no king can corrupt.” — _Henry... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT OUT. — Better, _blotted out._ The family is extinct and its name erased from the civil register. (See Psalms 69:28; Psalms 109:13.) The _Daleth_ stanza is wanting.... [ Continue Reading ]
O THOU ENEMY... — This vocative gives no intelligible meaning. Translate, _As for the enemy, they are made an utter wreck and perpetual ruin._ DESTRUCTIONS. — Properly, _desolations, ruins,_ from a word meaning “to be dried up.” COME TO A PERPETUAL END. — Properly, _are completed for ever._ THOU... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE LORD SHALL ENDURE. — Better, _but Jehovah sits enthroned for ever,_ being in close parallelism with the next clause, “For judgment has erected his throne.”... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE.... — Better, _and he it is who._ The pronoun is emphatic.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD ALSO. — Better, _but let Jehovah._ REFUGE. — Properly, _a stronghold:_ a citadel into which the persecuted would retreat. OPPRESSED. — Properly, _crushed._ TROUBLE. — From root meaning “to cut off from.” Sc., “provisions,” “water,” and the like. Its cognate in Jeremiah 14:1; Jeremiah 17:... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY THAT KNOW. — They who know the name of Jehovah will trust Him, because they know it to be a watchword of strength and protection. SEEK. — From root meaning “to tread” or “frequent a place,” possibly with allusion to frequenting the courts of the Temple.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN. — Better, _for he maketh inquisition;_ literally, _the seeker of bloods: i.e._, “the avenger of blood.” The allusion is to the _goel,_ the nearest relative of the murdered man, who must, according to Oriental custom, avenge him. The verbs are better in the past, “remembered,” “forgot not.” TH... [ Continue Reading ]
It is natural to take these verses as the cry for help just mentioned. CONSIDER. — Literally, _see my suffering from my haters._ MY LIFTER UP FROM THE GATES OF DEATH. — For the gates of _sheol,_ see Note to Psalms 6:5. (Comp. Psalms 107:18, and the Homeric phrase “the gates of Hades.”) We might pe... [ Continue Reading ]
Comp. Psalms 7:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD. — Better, _Jehovah hath made himself known. He hath executed judgment, snaring the wicked in the work of his own hands._ HIGGAION. SELAH. — _Higgaion_ occurs three times in the Psalms — here. Psalms 19:14, and Psalms 92:4 (Heb.). In the two latter places it is translated; in Psalms 19:14,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WICKED. — This is a most unfortunate rendering. The true translation is, _the wicked shall return,_ as in LXX. and Vulg. (not “be turned”) _to the grave, i.e., to dust,_ according to the doom in Genesis 3:19, or _to the unseen world,_ as in Job 30:23; Psalms 90:1; or the verbs may be imperative,... [ Continue Reading ]
NOT ALWAY. — In the original the negative comes emphatically at the commencement, ruling both clauses, as in Psalms 35:19. THE EXPECTATION OF THE POOR. — The sufferer’s hope will at some time be realised: the hope of being righted. In this confidence the psalmist goes on to call on Jehovah to appea... [ Continue Reading ]
LET NOT MAN PREVAIL. — Better, _let not mere man be defiant. _... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT THEM IN FEAR. — There is a difficulty about the reading. The LXX., Vulg., and Syriac read “place a lawgiver or master over them.” So Syriac, “law.” Hitzig conjectures, “set a guard upon them.” With the present reading apparently the rendering should be, _put a terror upon them: i.e._, “give such... [ Continue Reading ]