Mazmur 1:3

1:3 He is like ¹  a tree planted by flowing streams; ² 

it ³  yields ⁴  its fruit at the proper time, ⁵ 

and its leaves never fall off. ⁶ 

He succeeds in everything he attempts. ⁷ 

Mazmur 18:6

18:6 In my distress I called to the Lord;

I cried out to my God. ⁸ 

From his heavenly temple ⁹  he heard my voice;

he listened to my cry for help. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 20:6

20:6 Now I am sure ¹¹  that the Lord will deliver ¹²  his chosen king; ¹³ 

he will intervene for him ¹⁴  from his holy heavenly temple, ¹⁵ 

and display his mighty ability to deliver. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 31:13

31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, ¹⁷ 

the terrifying news that comes from every direction. ¹⁸ 

When they plot together against me,

they figure out how they can take my life.

Mazmur 34:1

Psalm 34 ¹⁹ 

Written by David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away. ²⁰ 

34:1 I will praise ²¹  the Lord at all times;

my mouth will continually praise him. ²² 

Mazmur 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ²³ 

praising our God. ²⁴ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ²⁵ 

Mazmur 40:9

40:9 I have told the great assembly ²⁶  about your justice. ²⁷ 

Look! I spare no words! ²⁸ 

O Lord, you know this is true.

Mazmur 49:10

49:10 Surely ²⁹  one sees ³⁰  that even wise people die; ³¹ 

fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away ³² 

and leave their wealth to others. ³³ 

Mazmur 51:14

51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, ³⁴  O God, the God who delivers me!

Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 52:9

52:9 I will continually ³⁶  thank you when ³⁷  you execute judgment; ³⁸ 

I will rely ³⁹  on you, ⁴⁰  for your loyal followers know you are good. ⁴¹ 

Mazmur 65:5

65:5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,

O God, our savior. ⁴² 

All the ends of the earth trust in you, ⁴³ 

as well as those living across the wide seas. ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 74:9

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ⁴⁵ 

there are no longer any prophets ⁴⁶ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 79:10

79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants

be avenged among the nations! ⁴⁸ 

Mazmur 81:5

81:5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,

when he attacked the land of Egypt. ⁴⁹ 

I heard a voice I did not recognize. ⁵⁰ 

Mazmur 81:7

81:7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.

I answered you from a dark thundercloud. ⁵¹ 

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. ⁵²  (Selah)

Mazmur 85:1

Psalm 85 ⁵³ 

For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.

85:1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;

you restored the well-being of Jacob. ⁵⁴ 

Mazmur 86:17

86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! ⁵⁵ 

Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, ⁵⁶ 

for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. ⁵⁷ 

Mazmur 102:1

Psalm 102 ⁵⁸ 

The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.

102:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!

Pay attention to my cry for help! ⁵⁹ 

Mazmur 141:4

141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, ⁶⁰ 

or participate in sinful activities

with men who behave wickedly. ⁶¹ 

I will not eat their delicacies. ⁶² 

Mazmur 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ⁶³ 

I have nowhere to run; ⁶⁴ 

no one is concerned about my life. ⁶⁵ 

Mazmur 143:8

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ⁶⁶ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ⁶⁷ 

because I long for you. ⁶⁸ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.

[1:3]  ² tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3]  ³ tn Heb “which.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3]  sn The author compares the godly individual to a tree that has a rich water supply (planted by flowing streams), develops a strong root system, and is filled with leaves and fruit. The simile suggests that the godly have a continual source of life which in turn produces stability and uninterrupted prosperity.

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”

[18:6]  ⁸ tn In this poetic narrative context the four prefixed verbal forms in v. 6 are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.

[18:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “from his temple.” Verse 10, which pictures God descending from the sky, indicates that the heavenly temple is in view, not the earthly one.

[18:6]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “and my cry for help before him came into his ears.” 2 Sam 22:7 has a shorter reading, “my cry for help, in his ears.” It is likely that Ps 18:6 MT as it now stands represents a conflation of two readings: (1) “my cry for help came before him,” (2) “my cry for help came into his ears.” See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 144, n. 13.

[20:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “know.”

[20:6]  sn Now I am sure. The speaker is not identified. It is likely that the king, referring to himself in the third person (note “his chosen king”), responds to the people’s prayer. Perhaps his confidence is due to the reception of a divine oracle of salvation.

[20:6]  ¹² tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.

[20:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.

[20:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will answer him.”

[20:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”

[20:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).

[31:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the report of many.”

[31:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the terror from all around.”

[34:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 34. In this song of thanksgiving the psalmist praises God for delivering him from distress. He encourages others to be loyal to the Lord, tells them how to please God, and assures them that the Lord protects his servants. The psalm is an acrostic; vv. 1-21 begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. (Verse 6 begins with the letter he (ה) and v. 7 with the letter zayin (ז). The letter vav (ו), which comes between ה and ז, seems to be omitted, although it does appear at the beginning of v. 6b. The final verse of the psalm, which begins with the letter pe (פ), is outside the acrostic scheme.

[34:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “By David, when he changed his sense before Abimelech and he drove him away and he went.”

[34:1]  sn Pretended to be insane. The psalm heading appears to refer to the account in 1 Sam 21:10-15 which tells how David, fearful that King Achish of Gath might kill him, pretended to be insane in hopes that the king would simply send him away. The psalm heading names the king Abimelech, not Achish, suggesting that the tradition is confused on this point. However, perhaps “Abimelech” was a royal title, rather than a proper name. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 278.

[34:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “bless.”

[34:1]  ²² tn Heb “continually [will] his praise [be] in my mouth.”

[40:3]  ²³ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[40:9]  ²⁶ sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Pss 22:25 and 35:18.

[40:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I proclaim justice in the great assembly.” Though “justice” appears without a pronoun here, the Lord’s just acts are in view (see v. 10). His “justice” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) is here the deliverance that originates in his justice; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just.

[40:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Look! My lips I do not restrain.”

[49:10]  ²⁹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is understood here as asseverative (emphatic).

[49:10]  ³⁰ tn The subject of the verb is probably the typical “man” mentioned in v. 7. The imperfect can be taken here as generalizing or as indicating potential (“surely he/one can see”).

[49:10]  ³¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to what is characteristically true. The vav (ו) consecutive with perfect in the third line carries the same force.

[49:10]  ³² tn Heb “together a fool and a brutish [man] perish.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 73:22; 92:6; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[49:10]  ³³ sn Death shows no respect for anyone. No matter how wise or foolish an individual happens to be, all pass away.

[51:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.

[51:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).

[52:9]  ³⁶ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

[52:9]  ³⁹ tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

[65:5]  ⁴² tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”

[65:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”

[65:5]  sn All the ends of the earth trust in you. This idealistic portrayal of universal worship is typical hymnic hyperbole, though it does anticipate eschatological reality.

[65:5]  ⁴⁴ tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rÿkhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.

[74:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[79:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”

[81:5]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “in his going out against the land of Egypt.” This apparently refers to the general time period of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The LXX reads, “from Egypt,” in which case “Joseph” (see the preceding line) would be the subject of the verb, “when he [Joseph = Israel] left Egypt.”

[81:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “a lip I did not know, I heard.” Here the term “lip” probably stands for speech or a voice. Apparently the psalmist speaks here and refers to God’s voice, whose speech is recorded in the following verses.

[81:7]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “I answered you in the hidden place of thunder.” This may allude to God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai, where he appeared in a dark cloud accompanied by thunder (see Exod 19:16).

[81:7]  ⁵² sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at the place called Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.

[85:1]  ⁵³ sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.

[85:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.

[86:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

[86:17]  ⁵⁶ tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

[86:17]  ⁵⁷ tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).

[102:1]  ⁵⁸ sn Psalm 102. The psalmist laments his oppressed state, but longs for a day when the Lord will restore Jerusalem and vindicate his suffering people.

[102:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and may my cry for help come to you.”

[141:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”

[141:4]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”

[141:4]  ⁶² sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.

[142:4]  ⁶³ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”

[143:8]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).

[143:8]  ⁶⁷ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).