5]]); בּאלהים, through God will he praise this His word, inasmuch as it is gloriously verified in him. Hupfeld thus correctly interprets it; whereas others in part render it “in Elohim do I praise His word,” in part (and the form of this favourite expression in Psa 56:11 is opposed to it): “Elohim do I celebrate, His word.” Hitzig, however, renders it: “Of God do I boast in matter,” i.e., in the present affair; which is most chillingly prosaic in connection with an awkward brevity of language. The exposition is here confused by Psa 10:3 and Psa 44:9. הלּל does not by any means signify gloriari in this passage, but celebrare; and באלהים is not intended in any other sense than that in Ps 60:14. בּטח בּ is equivalent to the New Testament phrase πιστεύειν ἐν. לא אירא is a circumstantial clause with a finite verb, as is customary in connection with לא, Psa 35:8, Job 29:24, and עב, Pro 19:23.
Verses 5-7
This second strophe describes the adversaries, and ends in imprecation, the fire of anger being kindled against them. Hitzig's rendering is: “All the time they are injuring my concerns,” i.e., injuring my interests. This also sounds unpoetical. Just as we say חמס תורה, to do violence to the Tôra (Zep 3:4; Eze 22:26), so we can also say: to torture any one's words, i.e., his utterances concerning himself, viz., by misconstruing and twisting them. It is no good to David that he asseverates his innocence, that he asserts his filial faithfulness to Saul, God's anointed; they stretch his testimony concerning himself upon the rack, forcing upon it a false meaning and wrong inferences. They band themselves together, they place men in ambush. The verb גּוּר signifies sometimes to turn aside, turn in, dwell (= Arab. jâr); sometimes, to be afraid (= יגר, Arab. wjr); sometimes, to stir up, excite, Psa 140:3 (= גּרה); and sometimes, as here, and in Psa 59:4, Isa 54:15 : to gather together (= אגר). The Kerî reads יצפּונוּ (as in Psa 10:8; Pro 1:11), but the scriptio plena points to Hiph. (cf. Job 24:6, and also Psa 126:5), and the following המּה leads one to the conclusion that it is the causative יצפּינוּ that is intended: they cause one to keep watch in concealment, they lay an ambush (synon. האריב, 1Sa 15:5); so that המה refers to the liers-in-wait told off by them: as to these - they observe my heels or (like the feminine plural in Psa 77:20; Psa 89:52) footprints (
