Mazmur 34:14

34:14 Turn away from evil and do what is right! ¹ 

Strive for peace and promote it! ² 

Mazmur 36:4

36:4 He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed;

he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; ³ 

he does not reject what is evil. ⁴ 

Mazmur 45:7

45:7 You love ⁵  justice and hate evil. ⁶ 

For this reason God, your God ⁷  has anointed you ⁸ 

with the oil of joy, ⁹  elevating you above your companions. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 97:10

97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He protects ¹¹  the lives of his faithful followers;

he delivers them from the power ¹²  of the wicked.

Mazmur 101:3

101:3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. ¹³ 

I hate doing evil; ¹⁴ 

I will have no part of it. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 119:104

119:104 Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 119:163

119:163 I hate and despise deceit;

I love your law.

[34:14]  ¹ tn Or “do good.”

[34:14]  ² tn Heb “seek peace and pursue it.”

[36:4]  ³ tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.

[36:4]  ⁴ tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.

[45:7]  ⁵ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ⁶ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ⁷ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁸ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁹ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[45:7]  sn Verses 6-7 are quoted in Heb 1:8-9, where they are applied to Jesus.

[97:10]  ¹¹ tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the Lord.” In this case one could translate, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, the one who protects the lives…and delivers them.”

[97:10]  ¹² tn Heb “hand.”

[101:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”

[101:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).

[101:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”

[119:104]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “every false path.”