Mazmur 127:3

127:3 Yes, ¹  sons ²  are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

Mazmur 128:4

128:4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the Lord

will be blessed in this way. ³ 

Mazmur 73:1

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ⁴ 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ⁵ 

and to those whose motives are pure! ⁶ 

Mazmur 73:18

73:18 Surely ⁷  you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down ⁸  to ruin.

[127:3]  ¹ tn or “look.”

[127:3]  ² tn Some prefer to translate this term with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following verses make clear. Daughters are certainly wonderful additions to a family, but in ancient Israelite culture sons were the “arrows” that gave a man security in his old age, for they could defend the family interests at the city gate, where the legal and economic issues of the community were settled.

[128:4]  ³ tn Heb “look, indeed thus will the man, the fearer of the Lord, be blessed.”

[73:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

[73:1]  ⁵ tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

[73:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[73:18]  ⁷ tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.

[73:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “cause them to fall.”