1013
Psalms 84:3
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kis-
hon River!
83:10 They were destroyed at Endor;
their corpses were like manure on the
ground.
83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and
Zeeb,
and all their rulers like Zebah and Zal-
munna,
83:12 who said, “Let’s take over the
pastures of God!”
83:13 O my God, make them like dead
thistles,
like dead weeds blown away by the
wind!
83:14 Like the fire that burns down the
forest,
or the flames that consume the mountain-
sides,10
83:15 chase them with your gale winds,
and terrify11 them with your windstorm.
83:16 Cover12 their faces with shame,
so they might seek13 you,14 O Lord.
83:17 May they be humiliated and con-
tinually terrified!15
 sn The psalmist alludes here to Gideon’s victory over the
Midianites (see Judg 7-8) and to Barak’s victory over Jabin’s
army, which was led by his general Sisera (Judg 4-5).
 sn Endor is not mentioned in the accounts of Gideon’s
or Barak’s victories, but both battles took place in the gen-
eral vicinity of the town. (See Y. Aharoni and M. Avi-Yonah, The
Macmillan Bible Atlas, 46, 54.) Because Sisera and Jabin are
mentioned in v. 9b, many understand them to be the subject
of the verbs in v. 10, though they relate v. 10 to Gideon’s vic-
tory, which is referred to in v. 9a, 11. (See, for example, Y. Aha-
roni, The Land of the Bible, 263.)
 tn Heb “they were manure.” In addition to this passage,
corpses are compared to manure in 2 Kgs 9:37; Jer 8:2; 9:21;
16:4; 25:33.
 sn Oreb and Zeeb were the generals of the Midianite
army that was defeated by Gideon. The Ephraimites captured
and executed both of them and sent their heads to Gideon
(Judg 7:24-25).
 sn Zebah and Zalmunna were the Midianite kings. Gide-
on captured them and executed them (Judg 8:1-21).
 tn The translation assumes that “Zebah and Zalmunna”
are the antecedents of the relative pronoun (“who [said]”).
Another option is to take “their nobles…all their rulers” as the
antecedent and to translate, “those who say.”
 tn Heb “let’s take possession for ourselves.”
 tn Or “tumbleweed.” The Hebrew noun ‫( ּג ְַל ּגַל‬galgal) re-
fers to a “wheel” or, metaphorically, to a whirling wind (see
Ps 77:18). If taken in the latter sense here, one could under-
stand the term as a metonymical reference to dust blown by a
whirlwind (cf. NRSV “like whirling dust”). However, HALOT 190
s.v. II ‫ ּג ְַל ּגַל‬understands the noun as a homonym referring to a
“dead thistle” here and in Isa 17:13. The parallel line, which
refers to ‫( קַ ׁש‬qash, “chaff”), favors this interpretation.
 tn Heb “before.”
10 sn The imagery of fire and flames suggests unrelenting,
destructive judgment.
11 tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 15 express the
psalmist’s wish or prayer.
12 tn Heb “fill.”
13 tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal
form with prefixed vav (‫ )ו‬indicates purpose or result (“then
they will seek”).
14 tn Heb “your name,” which stands here for God’s per-
son.
15 tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The He-
brew expression ‫’( עֲדֵ י־עַ ד‬adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean
May they die in shame! 16
83:18 Then they will know17 that you alone
are the Lord,18
the sovereign king19 over all the earth.
Psalm 8420
For the music director; according to the gittith
style;21 written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84:1 How lovely is the place where you
live,22
O Lord who rules over all!23
84:2 I desperately want to be24
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.25
My heart and my entire being26 shout for
joy
to the living God.
84:3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow27 builds a nest,
where she can protect her young28
near your altars, O Lord who rules over
all,
my king and my God.
“forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be
used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience
of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and
even to seek (v. 16) God.
16 tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four pre-
fixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives.
The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling
severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language
of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive out-
come of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the
language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is
that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation
of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated
nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judg-
ment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks
that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced
to acknowledge God’s power.
17 tn After the preceding jussives (v. 17), the prefixed verbal
form with prefixed vav (‫ )ו‬indicates purpose (“so that they may
know”) or result.
18 tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the Lord, you alone.”
19 tn Traditionally “the Most High.”
20 sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in
God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the
protector of his people.
21 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term ‫( הַ ִּג ִּתית‬haggit-
tit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instru-
ment.
22 tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun
may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwell-
ing place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).
23 tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention
to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).
24 tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”
25 tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).
26 tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and
being.
27 tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and
in Prov 26:2.
28 tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest
for herself, [in] which she places her young.”
sn The psalmist here romanticizes the temple as a place of
refuge and safety. As he thinks of the birds nesting near its
roof, he envisions them finding protection in God’s presence.