Mazmur 19:12

19:12 Who can know all his errors? ¹ 

Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. ² 

Mazmur 65:3

65:3 Our record of sins overwhelms me, ³ 

but you forgive ⁴  our acts of rebellion.

Mazmur 119:1-6

Psalm 119 ⁵ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ⁶ 

who obey ⁷  the law of the Lord.

119:2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,

and seek him with all their heart,

119:3 who, moreover, do no wrong,

but follow in his footsteps. ⁸ 

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ⁹ 

119:5 If only I were predisposed ¹⁰ 

to keep your statutes!

119:6 Then I would not be ashamed,

if ¹¹  I were focused on ¹²  all your commands.

Mazmur 119:32

119:32 I run along the path of your commands,

for you enable me to do so. ¹³ 

Mazmur 119:40

119:40 Look, I long for your precepts.

Revive me with your deliverance! ¹⁴ 

[19:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Errors who can discern?” This rhetorical question makes the point that perfect moral discernment is impossible to achieve. Consequently it is inevitable that even those with good intentions will sin on occasion.

[19:12]  ² tn Heb “declare me innocent from hidden [things],” i.e., sins. In this context (see the preceding line) “hidden” sins are not sins committed in secret, but sins which are not recognized as such by the psalmist.

[65:3]  ³ tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”

[65:3]  ⁴ tn Or “make atonement for.”

[119:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “walk in.”

[119:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[119:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”

[119:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “when.”

[119:6]  ¹² tn Heb “I gaze at.”

[119:32]  ¹³ tn Heb “for you make wide my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and understanding. The Lord gives the psalmist the desire and moral understanding that are foundational to the willing obedience depicted metaphorically in the preceding line. In Isa 60:5 the expression “your heart will be wide” means “your heart will swell with pride,” but here the nuance appears to be different.

[119:40]  ¹⁴ tn Or “righteousness.”