A Plea for Divine Retribution

¹ For the music director. A psalm of David.¹ Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting. Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy.

1. The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one

² Hide me from the secret plots¹ of evildoers, from the unrest of those who do iniquity,

1. Hebrew “plot”

³ who sharpen their tongue like a sword. They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

⁴ to shoot from¹ their² hiding places at the blameless. Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

1. Hebrew “in”
2. Hebrew “the”

⁵ They encourage themselves in the evil matter. They talk of secretly laying snares. They say, “Who will see them?”

⁶ ⌞They carefully plot⌟¹ injustices saying, “We have perfected ⌞the perfect plot⌟!”² Both the ⌞inner thought⌟³ and heart of a man are deep.

1. Literally “They search out”
2. Literally “a plotted plot”
3. Literally “inward part”

⁷ But God will shoot them; with an arrow they will suddenly be wounded.

^{8 1} And they who would cause him² to stumble, their own tongue will be against them. All who gaze on them will shake.³

1. The Hebrew of this verse is very difficult
2. That is, the psalmist
3. Perhaps a shaking of the head; a similar Hebrew form could be translated “will flee”

⁹ And then¹ all men² will fear, and will declare the working of God, and will understand his doing.

1. Hebrew “and”
2. Hebrew “man”

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice in Yahweh and take refuge in him, and all the upright in heart will boast.