Mazmur 37:3

37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! ¹ 

Mazmur 37:9

37:9 Wicked men ²  will be wiped out, ³ 

but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land. ⁴ 

Mazmur 37:11

37:11 But the oppressed will possess the land

and enjoy great prosperity. ⁵ 

Mazmur 37:22

37:22 Surely ⁶  those favored by the Lord ⁷  will possess the land,

but those rejected ⁸  by him will be wiped out. ⁹ 

Mazmur 37:29

37:29 The godly will possess the land

and will dwell in it permanently.

Mazmur 84:11

84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. ¹⁰ 

The Lord bestows favor ¹¹  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ¹² 

Mazmur 112:4-6

112:4 In the darkness a light ¹³  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ¹⁴ 

112:5 It goes well for the one ¹⁵  who generously lends money,

and conducts his business honestly. ¹⁶ 

112:6 For he will never be upended;

others will always remember one who is just. ¹⁷ 

[37:3]  ¹ tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (ra’ah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.

[37:9]  ² tn Heb “for evil men.” The conjunction כִּי (ki, “for”) relates to the exhortations in v. 8; there is no reason to be frustrated, for the evildoers will be punished in due time.

[37:9]  ³ tn Or “cut off, removed.”

[37:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and those who wait on the Lord, they will possess the land.”

[37:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they will take delight in (see v. 4) abundance of peace.”

[37:22]  ⁶ tn The particle כִּי is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.

[37:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “those blessed by him.” The pronoun “him” must refer to the Lord (see vv. 20, 23), so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “cursed.”

[37:22]  ⁹ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed” (see v. 9).

[84:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.

[84:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ¹² tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[112:4]  ¹³ tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.

[112:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “man.”

[112:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he sustains his matters with justice.”

[112:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”