113 The half-hearted1 I hate,
and Your teaching I love.
114 My hideaway and shield are You.
In Your word I trust.
115 Divert from me, you scoundrels,2
and I will observe my God’s teaching.
116 Bolster me3 as befits Your utterance,
and I shall live unashamed of my hope.
117 Support me that I may be rescued
and gaze on Your decrees always.
118 You repel4 all who stray from Your decrees,
for they lie in deceit.
119 Like slag5 You scrap6 all the earth’s wicked,
therefore I love Your edicts.
120 My flesh shudders from the dread of You,
and from Your rulings, which I fear.
This is the single occurrence in scripture of the Hebrew sēʿēp. It is derived from an uncommon root that yields terms for division, rock clefts, and tree branches. Most English translations render it here as “double-minded.”
The Hebrew term mirēʿîm means simply “evil ones” or “evildoers.”
The verb sāmak means to “uphold,” “support,” or “sustain,” though it can also mean to “lean,” and it is the term for laying one’s hands on the head of the animal during the sacrificial rite.
This is one of two scriptural appearances of the verb sālâ, meaning to “reject” or “spurn.”
My translation of the Hebrew sîg, “slag”—typically “dross”—follows the reading of the New English Translation. Sîg is a term from metallurgy, and “slag” is the specific English word for the stone waste collected during the smelting process.
The verb used here is actually šāḇaṯ, to “cease.” I have offered the translation “scrap” to strengthen the imagery of metal detritus.