Psalm 140:1-3

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 140:1 sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.
2. Psalm 140:1 tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).
3. Psalm 140:1 tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).
4. Psalm 140:2 tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”
5. Psalm 140:2 tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (y^egaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.
6. Psalm 140:3 tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”
7. Psalm 140:3 tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.
8. Psalm 140:3 tn Heb “under.”