Mazmur 32:5-6
Konteks32:5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess 1 my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins. 2 (Selah)
32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers 3 should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity. 4
Certainly 5 when the surging water 6 rises,
it will not reach them. 7
Mazmur 51:9-13
Konteks51:9 Hide your face 8 from my sins!
Wipe away 9 all my guilt!
51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! 10
Renew a resolute spirit within me! 11
Do not take your Holy Spirit 13 away from me! 14
51:12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! 15
51:13 Then I will teach 16 rebels your merciful ways, 17
and sinners will turn 18 to you.
[32:5] 1 tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”
[32:5] 2 tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.
[32:6] 3 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[32:6] 4 tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the
[32:6] 5 tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.
[32:6] 6 sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.
[32:6] 7 tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.
[51:9] 8 sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”
[51:9] 9 tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.
[51:10] 10 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.
[51:10] 11 tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”
[51:11] 12 tn Heb “do not cast me away from before you.”
[51:11] 13 sn Your Holy Spirit. The personal Spirit of God is mentioned frequently in the OT, but only here and in Isa 63:10-11 is he called “your/his Holy Spirit.”
[51:11] 14 sn Do not take…away. The psalmist expresses his fear that, due to his sin, God will take away the Holy Spirit from him. NT believers enjoy the permanent gift of the Holy Spirit and need not make such a request nor fear such a consequence. However, in the OT God’s Spirit empowered certain individuals for special tasks and only temporarily resided in them. For example, when God rejected Saul as king and chose David to replace him, the divine Spirit left Saul and came upon David (1 Sam 16:13-14).
[51:12] 15 tn Heb “and [with] a willing spirit sustain me.” The psalmist asks that God make him the kind of person who willingly obeys the divine commandments. The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:13] 16 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] 17 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).
