Take … off in line a translates the verb “drag away,” used with punishment, exile, or death as the destination. Here it can mean “Do not take me off to die with the wicked.” Some take the verb to mean “to count,” that is, to rank, classify (Dahood; see New Jerusalem Bible). It may be necessary to render this as “Do not condemn me when you condemn the wicked.”

The wicked in line a are further described as workers of evil in line b. And in line c they are described as men who “speak shalom,” that is, who greet others in a friendly fashion, but this only serves to conceal the hatred that is in their hearts. The English word mischief is not strong enough for the Hebrew word; New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible have “malice”; New American Bible “evil”; New Jerusalem Bible “treachery.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .