Dublin, OH
Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
92:6-11 Contrasts: The Godless Will Perish, but I Will Only See Them Perish. The next section draws a contrast between the members of the people who are unfaithful to the covenant (called stupid, fool, wicked, God's enemies, and evildoers, vv. 6-9) and those who hold fast to God in love and trust (the "I" singing the psalm; cf. my and me in vv. 10-11). The unfaithful are unable to grasp that no matter how they might flourish (v. 7) for the moment, God's will alone prevails in the end; God will bring judgment upon those who despise him (esp. those among his people). God, who is on high forever, openly displays those who are faithful to him, "exalting" (v. 10; "making high") their horn (a symbol of power and strength derived from the image of the horns of an animal; cf. note on 75:4). The terms my eyes have seen and my ears have heard indicate that the destruction of the wicked, who seemed so prosperous and dangerous (92:7), vindicates the way the faithful kept their loyalty to God in the face of the seductive temptation to give in to the unfaithful.
92:9 The three lines of this verse build up to a peak, each adding something to the previous line (cf. 93:3). perish . . . scattered. Like "destruction" (92:7), these terms describe the judgment on the wicked as if it is a defeat in battle. Judgment extends, when necessary, into the afterlife (see note on 49:13-20). A Ugaritic text from the has a structure very similar to 92:9, although it praises Baal (rather than Yahweh): "Now your enemies, O Baal; now your enemies you will smite; now you will vanquish your foes." The biblical poets used the literary forms of their culture but always were clear that it was Yahweh who deserved their praise.
92:10 exalted my horn. See note on 75:4. The wild ox is the aurochs, which is the ancestor of domestic cattle but is now extinct. The animal was known for its strength, and its horns were effective for goring (cf. 22:21; Deut. 33:17). Because the Greek translators used "one-horned" (Gk. monokerōs) to translate (incorrectly) the Hebrew term here, older English versions translated the word "unicorn" (the Latin Vulgate used a word signifying either rhinoceros or unicorn).
