A Cry for Justice

Psalm 58:1-11 English Standard Version

Psalm 58:superscription

1. To the choirmaster:

2. according to Do Not Destroy.

3. A Miktam of David.

a. Psalm 58 sits in a series of psalms that carry the superscription “Do not destroy” (57; 58; 59, cf. 75) accompanied by the word “Miktam” (56; 57; 58; 59; 60, cf. 16).[1]

b. Like the preceding psalms, this [is a] “murmured song” (miktam)[2]

c. Further, the two psalms [57 and 58] share the metaphor of the “teeth” of lions to describe the wicked, warranting Wilcock’s comment that they are sung to the same tune,2 both musically (title) and theologically (57:4; 58:6).[3]

d. Unlike the other psalms in this miktam grouping (Pss. 56–60), Psalm 58 does not exhibit in its heading a historical note linking the psalm to an event in the life of David (or any other person).[4]

e. Though the superscription of Ps 58 does not directly mention Saul, its placement in the Psalter makes that period of David’s life when Saul was trying to kill him the likeliest context for its composition.[5]

f. Here there is a challenge to unjust rulers, which could call to mind either Saul or Absalom, for both combined injustice and violence.[6]

g. Traditionally this psalm has been generally dated during David’s flight from Saul or Absalom, in the latter case taking the cue from the concern of the psalm for the administration of justice. That was the key piece in Absalom’s political platform, at least as he presented his case to the public (compare Absalom’s political platform by which he “stole the hearts of the people of Israel,” 2 Sam. 15:1–6).[7]

i. 2 Samuel 15:1 After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.

ii. 2 Samuel 15:2 And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,”

iii. 2 Samuel 15:3 Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.”

iv. 2 Samuel 15:4 Then Absalom would say, “Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.”

v. 2 Samuel 15:5 And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.

vi. 2 Samuel 15:6 Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Psalm 58:1

1. Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?

2. Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

a. “gods”

i. The consonantal Hebrew text behind the word translated “[gods]” is ʾlm, and these three consonants are variously vocalized with vowels: ʾelem(“silence”; the traditional but less probable reading); ʾelîm (“rulers”; the plural of ʾayil[“ram/ruler”]); or ʾelim (“gods”; the plural of ʾel, the generic term for deity in the ancient Near East). These last two words would have sounded almost identical to a listener, and herein lies the force of the wordplay. Both gods and rulers were expected to oversee the administration of justice on the earth, to limit violence, and maintain social order.[8]

1. As pointed in BHS the Hebrew text of Ps 58:1 (MT 58:2) reads as follows: “Really in silence do you all speak righteousness …?” The term rendered “in silence” can be re-pointed (i.e., given different vowels, revocalized) to mean either “gods” (ESV, NAS) or “mighty ones/rulers” (CSB, NIV). The Greek translation leaves the term in question untranslated (cf. NETS), and the targum renders it “silent.”205

2. The MT has אֵלֶם, ’ēlem, “in silence,” but this hardly makes sense. Most translators and commentators assume different vocalization, reading the text as אֵלִים, ’ēlîm, “gods” or “rulers” (e.g., NIV); cf. 82:1–2 (a psalm of Asaph), which, however, employs אֱלֹהִים, ’ĕlōhîm. The persons addressed here must be human in the light of the way they are described, especially in v. 3. See Tate, Psalms 51–100, 82–83, and my comments on 82:1.[9]

b. Psalm 58 is addressed to unjust rulers. They may be spiritual powers, human rulers, or both.[10]

i. gods

1. The word for rulers may suggest spiritual beings (angels; especially if we accept a slight emendation [’elîm for ’ēlem], the latter makes no sense in the context) or possibly human rulers. Interestingly, Psalm 82 chastises the spiritual powers for not exercising their authority justly. [11]

2. Psalm 82:1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

3. Psalm 82:2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

4. The background of the address to the אלים, “mighty ones/gods,” in v 2 is that reflected in Deut 32:8–9 and Ps 82, which is the concept of the apportioned assignment of divine beings, or angels, to support and establish justice among the people to whom they were assigned.[12]

5. Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

6. Deuteronomy 32:9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.

7. …its style presents affinities with that of the Song of Moses (Deut 32:28–43). The imagery that describes the deaf judges (vv. 5–6) is startlingly similar to the Deuteronomic indictment of Israel: the chosen people has lost common sense (Deut 32:28). It drinks poisoned wine that is the venom of snakes, like the poison of adders (v. 33). “Mine is the avenging and even the vengeance,” cries the Lord (v. 35). “I shall make my arrows drunk with blood” (v. 42), and “nations will shout with joy” (v. 43). [13]

ii. Earthly rulers

1. If we understand the subject of 58:1 to be the “gods,” then the wicked of verse 3 are the earthlings who carry on the evil work of the gods. This poem thus moves from the idea of the gods who activate injustice in the world, to the human wicked who carry out the gods’ designs, to the victims of God’s judgment in verse 10b, precisely what the prayer of verses 6–9 (the sevenfold curse) hopes for.[14]

2. Daniel 10:13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,

3. Daniel 10:20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

4. Daniel 10:21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.

5. Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

a. Absalom with his followers had made the administration of justice the means of stealing from David the heart of his people; he feigned to be the more impartial judge[15]

b. Looking at this psalm in isolation, we have seen in it an attack on powerful people who misuse their power by ruling or judging unjustly. When we have found this fierce kind of language in psalms which seem to relate very naturally to David’s life and times, it is directed against his enemies: before he came to the throne, Saul; afterwards, Absalom. Bringing the two thoughts together, we realize that the rulers of Psalm 58 could have been Saul and his powerful supporters, or Absalom and his.[16]

iii. Silence

1. Psalm 58:1 LEB Do you really speak what is right when silent? Do you judge fairly the children of humankind?

2. Psalm 56:title NKJV To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David When the Philistines Captured Him in Gath.

3. To render justice by silence or “by default” is a perversion of the law.[17]

4. I have stayed with the BHS to render the term in question “in silence” (with the footnote/marginal reading in the CSB and ESV) and, assuming the context of Saul’s persecution of David, take the phrase to articulate David’s objection to the way that influential people are silent in response to Saul’s wickedness. Those who should stand for righteousness and justice, using their influence and authority for truth and goodness, instead passively allow Saul to continue in his murderous wickedness. Whereas those who keep the Torah strive against the wicked, those who do not stand against the wicked join their cause against the truth of God’s word (cf. Prov 28:4, 23; 24:25).[18]

Psalm 58:2

1. No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;

a. Devise - to do (manner) v. — to behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior or attribute; conduct or comport oneself.

2. your hands deal out violence on earth.

a. Deal out - to distribute ⇔ weigh out v. — to administer or bestow something, conceived of as weighing it out.

b. The verb “devise” (p‘l) means to “practice,” and the parallel verb in the second half of the verse suggests that it is the “gods” who “make way for violence”3 (Piel of pls) in the earth. Or if we take ’elem to be “rulers,” they are the perpetrators, and their subjects are the transfer agents who become the victims of their own evil deeds. Perowne translates the verb (p‘l) as “weigh out,” sarcastically intended.[19]

Psalm 58:3

1. The wicked are estranged from the womb;

2. they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

a. Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

b. Yet the difference between such people and David himself, as he confessed in 51:5, was one of degree rather than kind. He too was a sinner from the womb[20]

Psalm 58:4-5

1. (v.4) They have venom like the venom of a serpent,

2. like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

3. (v.5) so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.

a. It is generally agreed that snakes are deaf, and they respond to the movements of the charmer, not the sounds of the charmer’s pipe.[21]

b. The analogy with the cobra, which is deaf and responds not to the sounds but to the movement of the charmer, illustrates both the capacity for evil of the wicked and their refusal to hear God’s Word.[22]

Psalm 58:6

1. God, break the teeth in their mouths;

2. tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

a. By also characterizing his enemies as fanged lions, David links the enemies of Ps 58 with those of 57:4 (MT 57:5).[23]

b. To ask God to “break the teeth” of the enemy sounds like a desire for an incredibly violent and harsh attack, unless the imagery of the beast of prey is kept in mind. The psalmist is not asking for a preemptive strike against those he dislikes. Rather, he is calling on God to break the deadly grip of the ravenous beast on the trapped prey in order to free and deliver it.[24]

c. [Verse 6] is the core verse of the psalm,11 chiastically calling on God with both the generic ’elohim and the covenant name YHWH:

A Break the teeth in their mouths,

B O God;

B′ Lord,

A′ tear out the fangs of those lions![25]

Psalm 58:7

1. Let them vanish like water that runs away;

2. when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.

Psalm 58:8

1. Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,

a. He wants them to be like a slug that melts away as it moves. This picture probably understands the slime that a slug leaves behind as it moves to be the slug itself melting away[26]

2. like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.

a. Harman says, “The connection between the slug and the stillborn child is that neither sees the light of the sun (verse 8). The slug leaves its trail behind, but that is gone when the sun rises. The stillborn child never sees the light of the sun. So the psalmist wishes his wicked enemies to become as if they had never existed.”[27]

Psalm 58:9

1. Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

a. Because this is an imprecatory Psalm, the 1962 Canadian Book of Common Prayer leaves out Psalm 58 (and Psalm 137).[19] A number of various other imprecatory Psalms are omitted from a number of lectionaries usually having Psalm 58 among those redacted.[20] Evangelicals tend to disagree and see a value in these passages.[21]

b. In a series of seven similes and metaphors (curses; see “Historical and Cultural Background” for all seven), the poet describes the destruction he wishes to come on his enemies: (1) let them vanish “like water that flows away” and is useless (58:7a); (2) “let their arrows fall short” and thus not hit their target (58:7b); (3) “may they be like a slug that melts away,” thus wasting away (58:8a); (4) let them be “like a stillborn child that never sees the sun,” and so their evil will never materialize (58:8b); (5) let the wicked “be swept away” like thorns that have been gathered to fire up the oven for cooking and thus not produce the result intended (58:9).[28]

c. This psalm contains seven “curses” (in condensed form) that provide a window into the ancient world. First is the cobra that cannot be charmed because it “has stopped its ears” (58:4). Second, the wicked are compared to the “teeth” of lions (see also 57:4), as the singer prays that God will “break the teeth in their mouths” (58:6). Third, the wicked are “like water that flows away” (58:7a; compare the wadi that is only a seasonal stream). Fourth, the wicked are warriors who “draw their bow” (58:7b), and the psalmist’s prayer is that the arrows will fall short of their target. Fifth, the prayer is to the effect that they will be “like a slug that melts away as it moves along” (58:8a). The snail leaves its shell and makes its tiny trail as it seems to disappear. Sixth, the sad picture of a “stillborn child that never sees the sun” (58:8b) moves the metaphors into the category of humanity. And seventh, another picture of human habitation appears as the wind sweeps away the thorns that are intended to fire up the cooking pots and leaves the hungry unsatisfied (58:9).[29]

d. As the nivfootnote indicates, the Hebrew of verse 9 is uncertain, and so a number of different translations are suggested. The common point of all the modern versions, and therefore the clear teaching of the verse, is the claim that the wicked will be removed quickly. The nivsays that their removal will be quicker than a pot can feel the heat of a fire, whether that fire is fuelled by green thorns or dry, although the latter would be quicker.[30]

Psalm 58:10

1. The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

a. For nāqām EVV have words such as “vengeance” but this gives a misleading impression. The word indeed implies acting with conviction, even passion, yet it does not refer to the taking of personal revenge but to God’s putting things right by seeing that people in the wrong are punished.[31]

b. Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’

i. Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

2. he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

a. Along with Psalm 137:9, this statement is at the top of the charts for the spirit of vengeance that sometimes infiltrates the Psalms. It may be worth noting, however, that the righteous are passive here (lit., “when he sees the vengeance”). Generally speaking, the imprecatory psalms leave vengeance to God.[32]

b. The graphic picture of the righteous washing their feet (58:10; NIV: “dip”) in the blood of the wicked is found also in Psalm 68:21–23. These are the victims of evil who now find respite in the wake of God’s judgment. In Isaiah 63:3 we see a different picture of the Victor (Yahweh) emerging from the battle against evil, with his garments stained with blood.[33]

i. Psalm 68:21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.

ii. Psalm 68:22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

iii. Psalm 68:23 that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

c. Consider as well the picture of the victorious Yahweh fresh from judgment on the nations: “Why are your garments red,” the narrator asks, “like those of one treading the winepress?” Yahweh replies, “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing” (Isa. 63:2–3). Compare Isaiah’s image with Revelation’s description of the judging angels: “The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia” (Rev. 14:19–20).[34]

i. Isaiah 63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”

ii. Isaiah 63:2 Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?

iii. Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel.

iv. Revelation 14:19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

v. Revelation 14:20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

d. ‘With justice’ the Rider on the white horse ‘judges and makes war’.[35]

i. Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

ii. Revelation 19:12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.

iii. Revelation 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

Psalm 58:11

1. Mankind will say,

2. “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;

3. surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

a. The word pair [righteous] and making [judges] recurs from v. 1, thus “constitutes the frame for this poem, and indicates the greatest worry of the poet: these two concepts are lacking in the land, and only God can remedy the situation.”[36]The MT implies a verbal link that is obvious, for the final truth imposes itself: “Yes! There is a God [who] judges.”[37]

b. Psalm 58:1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

c. Psalm 58:11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

d. Psalm 58 opens and closes with statements about righteous judgment: It isn’t happening in 58:1–2 (MT 58:2–3), but God will establish it in 58:10–11 (MT 58:11–12).[38]

e. As a confirmation, the concluding verse of the psalm hints at a contrast between the morally defective and ineffective rule of the pagan gods and the upright and powerful God of Israel.[39]

i. The psalm reflects the following chiastic structure:

1. 58:1–2 (MT 58:2–3), Righteous Judgment Not Executed

a. 58:3 (MT 58:4), They Go Astray from the Womb

i. 58:4–5 (MT 58:5–6), Uncharmed Venomous Snakes

ii. 58:6 (MT 58:7), Break Their Teeth

b. 58:7–9 (MT 58:8–10), Wander, Miscarriage

2. 58:10–11 (MT 58:11–12), Righteous Judgment Executed by God[40]

f. Vindication comes with the public recognition and acknowledgment that the righteous are “rewarded” by God. The use of the double ʾak (“surely”) emphasizes the change in public perception that this final acknowledgment affirms. [41]

However, in spite of textual obscurities that lead to diverse interpretations and translations, the structure is orderly, mirrorlike, and symmetrical: two strophes of 3+2 bicola and 2+3 bicola respectively (vv. 2–4+5–6 and 8–9+10–12). A core verse separates them and at the same time provides their junction at the culminating point of the entire poem (v. 7). It calls upon the Deity, who is named chiasmically Elohim and Yahweh. The thematic key is to be found in the initial interrogation and the final expostulation (vv. 1 and 12).[42]

One can hardly read Psalm 58 without recalling the story of humanity’s primordial sin in Genesis 3. The “sons of Adam” (“sons of man”; NIV: “people”; 58:1), “Adam” (“man”; NIV “people”; 58:11), and the snake (58:4) may be allusions to the story of the fall, as well might also the note that “even from birth the wicked go astray” (58:3), alluding to the fall and Cain’s sin in Genesis 4. While the latter allusion may be a stretch, if we accept the allusions to Genesis 3, it may help to explain the moral straying of the wicked “from birth” (58:3), since that pattern has been obvious from the beginning of the human story.[43]

There may be a poetic interpretation of Gen 3:15 in Ps 58:10 (MT 58:11) as David depicts the righteous bathing his feet in the blood of the wicked. This may result from the seed of the woman bruising their heels as they bruise the head of the seed of the serpent by stomping them underfoot, with the result that their feet are bathed in the blood of the wicked. If this is indeed the meaning of the imagery, it points to the way that God’s justice will be visited by means of God’s people (cf. Rom 16:20). The statement is made with singular rather than plural forms, as in Gen 3:15. These singulars can be taken to refer to the way that God’s people in general will visit his justice, or they could also point to the way the singular seed of the woman will wear garments sprinkled by the blood of his enemies (Isa 63:1–6; Rev 19:13).[44]

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

[1] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 544. [2] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 440. 2 Wilcock, Psalms 1–72, 211. [3] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 440. [4] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 840. [5] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 544. [6] Geoffrey W. Grogan, Psalms, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 114. [7] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 441. [8] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 843. BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Edited by Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983. MT Masoretic Text ESV English Standard Version CSB Christian Standard Bible NETS A New English Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included under That Title. Edited by Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. 205 Stec, Targum of Psalms, 116. MT Masoretic text NIV New International Version [9] Geoffrey W. Grogan, Psalms, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008). [10] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 236. [11] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 235. [12] Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, vol. 20, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 85. [13] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 441. [14] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 444. [15] Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 5 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 399. [16] Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms: Songs for the People of God, ed. J. A. Motyer, vol. 1, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 211. [17] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 440. BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Edited by Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983. CSB Christian Standard Bible ESV English Standard Version [18] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 544–545. 3 Koehler and Baumgartner, Lexicon, 2:935. [19] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 442. [20] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 226. [21] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 442. [22] Geoffrey W. Grogan, Psalms, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 114. MT Masoretic Text [23] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 546. [24] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 841. 11 Terrien, Psalms, 439. [25] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 442. [26] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 236. [27] Geoffrey W. Grogan, Psalms, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 114. [28] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 443. [29] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 441. niv New International Version, copyright © 1973,1978, 1984,2011 by Biblica Inc. niv New International Version, copyright © 1973,1978, 1984,2011 by Biblica Inc. [30] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 236. EVV (many) English versions [31] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 208. lit. literally [32] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 443. NIV New International Version [33] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 440–441. [34] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 842–843. [35] Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms: Songs for the People of God, ed. J. A. Motyer, vol. 1, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 210. [36] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 208. MT Masoretic Text [37] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 441. MT Masoretic Text MT Masoretic Text [38] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 542. [39] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 844. MT Masoretic Text MT Masoretic Text MT Masoretic Text MT Masoretic Text MT Masoretic Text MTMasoretic Text [40] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 542. [41] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 842. [42] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 439. NIV New International Version NIV New International Version [43] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 440. MT Masoretic Text [44] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 546–547.