Mazmur 10:3

10:3 Yes, ¹  the wicked man ²  boasts because he gets what he wants; ³ 

the one who robs others ⁴  curses ⁵  and ⁶  rejects the Lord. ⁷ 

Mazmur 21:8

21:8 You ⁸  prevail over ⁹  all your enemies;

your power is too great for those who hate you. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 35:3

35:3 Use your spear and lance ¹¹  against ¹²  those who chase me!

Assure me with these words: ¹³  “I am your deliverer!”

Mazmur 44:13

44:13 You made us ¹⁴  an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 45:14

45:14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.

Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,

are led before you. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 51:13

51:13 Then I will teach ¹⁷  rebels your merciful ways, ¹⁸ 

and sinners will turn ¹⁹  to you.

Mazmur 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ²⁰ 

for they say, ²¹ 

“Who hears?”

Mazmur 68:12

68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away! ²² 

The lovely lady ²³  of the house divides up the loot.

Mazmur 68:19-20

68:19 The Lord deserves praise! ²⁴ 

Day after day ²⁵  he carries our burden,

the God who delivers us. (Selah)

68:20 Our God is a God who delivers;

the Lord, the sovereign Lord, can rescue from death. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 69:36

69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who are loyal to him ²⁷  will live in it. ²⁸ 

Mazmur 71:15

71:15 I will tell about your justice,

and all day long proclaim your salvation, ²⁹ 

though I cannot fathom its full extent. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 71:17

71:17 O God, you have taught me since I was young,

and I am still declaring ³¹  your amazing deeds.

Mazmur 72:4

72:4 He will defend ³²  the oppressed among the people;

he will deliver ³³  the children ³⁴  of the poor

and crush the oppressor.

Mazmur 76:7

76:7 You are awesome! Yes, you!

Who can withstand your intense anger? ³⁵ 

Mazmur 76:9

76:9 when God arose to execute judgment,

and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)

Mazmur 78:31

78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them.

He killed some of the strongest of them;

he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.

Mazmur 78:49

78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, ³⁶ 

He sent fury, rage, and trouble

as messengers who bring disaster. ³⁷ 

Mazmur 79:2

79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants

to the birds of the sky; ³⁸ 

the flesh of your loyal followers

to the beasts of the earth.

Mazmur 96:3

96:3 Tell the nations about his splendor!

Tell ³⁹  all the nations about his amazing deeds!

Mazmur 96:12

96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!

Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy

Mazmur 104:3

104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. ⁴⁰ 

He makes the clouds his chariot,

and travels along on the wings of the wind. ⁴¹ 

Mazmur 107:8

107:8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ⁴² 

Mazmur 107:15

107:15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ⁴³ 

Mazmur 107:21

107:21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 107:31

107:31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ⁴⁵ 

Mazmur 111:1

Psalm 111 ⁴⁶ 

111:1 Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.

Mazmur 126:6

126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag ⁴⁷  of seed,

will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain. ⁴⁸ 

[10:3]  ¹ tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ² tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

[10:3]  ³ tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

[10:3]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

[10:3]  ⁵ tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

[10:3]  ⁶ tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

[21:8]  ⁸ tn The king is now addressed. One could argue that the Lord is still being addressed, but v. 9 militates against this proposal, for there the Lord is mentioned in the third person and appears to be distinct from the addressee (unless, of course, one takes “Lord” in v. 9 as vocative; see the note on “them” in v. 9b). Verse 7 begins this transition to a new addressee by referring to both the king and the Lord in the third person (in vv. 1-6 the Lord is addressed and only the king referred to in the third person).

[21:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “your hand finds.” The idiom pictures the king grabbing hold of his enemies and defeating them (see 1 Sam 23:17). The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 8-12 may be translated with the future tense, as long as the future is understood as generalizing.

[21:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your right hand finds those who hate you.”

[35:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.

[35:3]  ¹² tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”

[35:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”

[44:13]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.”

[45:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “virgins after her, her companions, are led to you.” Some emend לָךְ (lakh, “to you”) to לָהּ (lah, “to her,” i.e., the princess), because the princess is now being spoken of in the third person (vv. 13-14a), rather than being addressed directly (as in vv. 10-12). However, the ambiguous suffixed form לָךְ need not be taken as second feminine singular. The suffix can be understood as a pausal second masculine singular form, addressed to the king. The translation assumes this to be the case; note that the king is addressed once more in vv. 16-17, where the second person pronouns are masculine.

[51:13]  ¹⁷ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.

[51:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).

[51:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.

[59:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ²¹ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[68:12]  ²² tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.

[68:12]  ²³ tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or corruption of נצוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.

[68:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

[68:19]  ²⁵ tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes (“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with what follows.

[68:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and to the Lord, the Lord, to death, goings out.”

[69:36]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the lovers of his name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to God (cf. v. 35). See Pss 5:11; 119:132; Isa 56:6.

[69:36]  ²⁸ sn Verses 35-36 appear to be an addition to the psalm from the time of the exile. The earlier lament reflects an individual’s situation, while these verses seem to reflect a communal application of it.

[71:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my mouth declares your vindication, all the day your deliverance.”

[71:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “though I do not know [the] numbers,” that is, the tally of God’s just and saving acts. HALOT 768 s.v. סְפֹרוֹת understands the plural noun to mean “the art of writing.”

[71:17]  ³¹ tn Heb “and until now I am declaring.”

[72:4]  ³² tn Heb “judge [for].”

[72:4]  ³³ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[76:7]  ³⁵ tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (me’az, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (me’oz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).

[78:49]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he sent against them the rage of his anger.” The phrase “rage of his anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[78:49]  ³⁷ tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”

[79:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”

[96:3]  ³⁹ tn The verb “tell” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[104:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.

[104:3]  ⁴¹ sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[107:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.”

[107:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.

[107:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.

[107:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.

[111:1]  ⁴⁶ sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[126:6]  ⁴⁷ tn The noun occurs only here and in Job 28:18 in the OT. See HALOT 646 s.v. I מֶשֶׁךְ which gives “leather pouch” as the meaning.

[126:6]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew noun אֲלֻמָּה (’alummah, “sheaf”) occurs only here and in Gen 37:7 in the OT.

[126:6]  sn Verse 6 expands the image of v. 5. See the note on the word “harvest” there.