274 FORMS OF HEBREW POETRY
16 The nations have sunk down in the pit they made,
In the net they hid their own foot has been caught;
17 Yahweh hath made Himself known in the execution
of justice,
The wicked has been trapped in the work of his
own hands.
y
18 The wicked shall return unto Sheol,
(Even) all the nations that forget God ;
k
19 For the poor shall not be forgotten for ever,
(Nor) the hope of the afflicted perish for aye.
20 Arise, Yahweh, let not frail man be strong,
Let the nations be judged before Thy face ;
21 Appoint terror for them, 0 Yahweh,
Let the nations know they are frail men.
l (m )
X^1 Wherefore, Yahweh, standest Thou afar off,
Hidest Thou (Thine eyes) in seasons of extremity?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursues the afflicted;
Let them be caught in the devices they have
imagined.
3 For the wicked praiseth his desire;
The greedy getter blesseth his appetite.
harsh, and the presence of the word overloads the line. Not improbably
yxnwm has arisen from yxwnm, the participle originally used in the next
line, which was subsequently explained by the synonymous ymmvrm (so
Lagarde, and many since).
3 The last two words of the Hebrew text of this verse belong to
verse 4: see next note. After their removal, there remains :
vwpn tvxt lf fwr llh-yk
jrb fcbv
These lines are obviously ill-balanced ; yw, SSn in the first is parallel
to -inn vs: in the second, but the object in the first line consists of two