Psalm 64

¹Listen to me, O God, as I offer my lament![#tn Heb “my voice.”]

Protect my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks.

²Hide me from the plots of evil men,

from the crowd of evildoers.

³They sharpen their tongues like a sword;[#tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.]

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge,

⁴in order to shoot down the innocent in secluded places.[#tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.]

They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation.

⁵They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed.[#tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”]

They plan how to hide snares,

and boast, “Who will see them?”

⁶They devise unjust schemes;[#tn Heb “search out, examine,” which here means (by metonymy) “devise.”]

they disguise a well-conceived plot.

Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered.

⁷But God will shoot at them;[#tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) 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 329-30 §111.w.]

suddenly they will be wounded by an arrow.

⁸Their slander will bring about their demise.[#tc 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 עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “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 כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.]

All who see them will shudder,

⁹and all people will fear.[#tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read וַיִּרְאוּ (vayyir’u, “and they will see”) instead of וַיִּירְאוּ (vayyirÿ’u, “and they will proclaim”).]

They will proclaim what God has done,

and reflect on his deeds.

¹⁰The godly will rejoice in the Lord

and take shelter in him.

All the morally upright will boast.