Mazmur 26:3

26:3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, ¹ 

and your loyalty continually motivates me. ² 

Mazmur 77:10-11

77:10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought

that the sovereign One ³  might become inactive. ⁴ 

77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord.

Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! ⁵ 

Mazmur 104:34

104:34 May my thoughts ⁶  be pleasing to him!

I will rejoice in the Lord.

Mazmur 105:5-6

105:5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,

his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed, ⁷ 

105:6 O children ⁸  of Abraham, ⁹  God’s ¹⁰  servant,

you descendants ¹¹  of Jacob, God’s ¹²  chosen ones!

[26:3]  ¹ tn Heb “for your faithfulness [is] before my eyes.”

[26:3]  ² tn Heb “and I walk about in your loyalty.”

[26:3]  sn The psalmist’s awareness of the Lord’s faithfulness and…loyalty toward him motivates him to remain loyal to the Lord and to maintain his moral purity.

[77:10]  ³ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[77:10]  ⁴ tc Heb “And I said, ‘This is my wounding, the changing of the right hand of the Most High.’” The form חַלּוֹתִי (khallotiy) appears to be a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלַל (khalal, “to pierce; to wound”). The present translation assumes an emendation to חֲלוֹתִי (khalotiy), a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלָה (khalah, “be sick, weak”). The form שְׁנוֹת (shÿnot) is understood as a Qal infinitive construct from שָׁנָה (shanah, “to change”) rather than a plural noun form, “years” (see v. 5). “Right hand” here symbolizes by metonymy God’s power and activity. The psalmist observes that his real problem is theological in nature. His experience suggests that the sovereign Lord has abandoned him and become inactive. However, this goes against the grain of his most cherished beliefs.

[77:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”

[77:11]  sn The psalmist refuses to allow skepticism to win out. God has revealed himself to his people in tangible, incontrovertible ways in the past and the psalmist vows to remember the historical record as a source of hope for the future.

[104:34]  ⁶ tn That is, the psalmist’s thoughts as expressed in his songs of praise.

[105:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”

[105:6]  ⁸ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[105:6]  ⁹ tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.

[105:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “sons.”

[105:6]  ¹² tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.