Psalm 140:2-4

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 140:2 tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”
2. 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.
3. 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.”
4. Psalm 140:3 tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.
5. Psalm 140:3 tn Heb “under.”
6. Psalm 140:4 tn Heb “hands.”
7. Psalm 140:4 tn Heb “to push down my steps.”