¹tn Heb “my voice.”
²tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.
³tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.
⁴tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”
⁵tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁶tn Heb “a bitter word.”
⁷tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.
⁸tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
⁹tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”
¹⁰tn Heb “they report about hiding.”
¹¹tn Heb “they say.”
¹²tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).
¹³tn Heb “search out, examine,” which here means (by metonymy) “devise.”
¹⁴tc The MT has wnmt (“we are finished”), a Qal perfect first common plural form from the verbal root <mt. Some understand this as the beginning of a quotation of the enemies’ words and translate, “we have completed,” but the Hiphil would seem to be required in this case. The present translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading wnmf (“they hide”), a Qal perfect third common plural form from the verbal root /mf.
¹⁵tn Heb “a searched-out search,” which is understood as referring here to a thoroughly planned plot to destroy the psalmist.
¹⁶tn Heb “and the inner part of man, and a heart [is] deep.” The point seems to be that a man’s inner thoughts are incapable of being discovered. No one is a mind reader! Consequently the psalmist is vulnerable to his enemies’ well-disguised plots.
¹⁷tn The prefixed verb with vav consecutive is normally used in narrative contexts to describe completed past actions. It is possible that the conclusion to the psalm (vv. 7-10) was added to the lament after God’s judgment of the wicked in response to the psalmist’s lament (vv. 1-6). The translation assumes that these verses are anticipatory and express the psalmist’s confidence that God would eventually judge the wicked. The psalmist uses a narrative style as a rhetorical device to emphasize his certitude. See GKC §111.w and DHS §49.b.
¹⁸tn The perfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s certitude about the coming demise of the wicked.
¹⁹tn The translation follows the traditional accentuation of the MT. Another option is to translate, “But God will shoot them down with an arrow, suddenly they will be wounded” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
²⁰tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition lu might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to <nwvl ylu wmlyvkyw (“and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb lvk elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.
²¹tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root dwn (see HALOT 678), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root ddn (as proposed by BDB 622), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.
²²tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read waryw (“and they will see”) instead of waryyw (“and they will proclaim”).
²³tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.
²⁴tn Heb “upright in heart.”
²⁵tn That is, about the Lord’s accomplishments on their behalf.
²⁶sn Psalm 65. The psalmist praises God because he forgives sin and blesses his people with an abundant harvest.