Mazmur 3:1

Psalm 3 ¹ 

A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. ² 

3:1 Lord, how ³  numerous are my enemies!

Many attack me. ⁴ 

Mazmur 4:6

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ⁵ 

Mazmur 5:10

5:10 Condemn them, ⁶  O God!

May their own schemes be their downfall! ⁷ 

Drive them away ⁸  because of their many acts of insurrection, ⁹ 

for they have rebelled against you.

Mazmur 27:9

27:9 Do not reject me! ¹⁰ 

Do not push your servant away in anger!

You are my deliverer! ¹¹ 

Do not forsake or abandon me,

O God who vindicates me!

Mazmur 28:1

Psalm 28 ¹² 

By David.

28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My protector, ¹³  do not ignore me! ¹⁴ 

If you do not respond to me, ¹⁵ 

I will join ¹⁶  those who are descending into the grave. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 30:1

Psalm 30 ¹⁸ 

A psalm – a song used at the dedication of the temple; ¹⁹  by David.

30:1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up, ²⁰ 

and did not allow my enemies to gloat ²¹  over me.

Mazmur 55:1

Psalm 55 ²² 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ²³  by David.

55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!

Do not ignore ²⁴  my appeal for mercy!

Mazmur 61:5

61:5 For you, O God, hear my vows;

you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 65:1

Psalm 65 ²⁶ 

For the music director; a psalm of David, a song.

65:1 Praise awaits you, ²⁷  O God, in Zion.

Vows made to you are fulfilled.

Mazmur 65:5

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

O God, our savior. ²⁸ 

All the ends of the earth trust in you, ²⁹ 

as well as those living across the wide seas. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 69:1

Psalm 69 ³¹ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ³²  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ³³ 

Mazmur 79:1

Psalm 79 ³⁴ 

A psalm of Asaph.

79:1 O God, foreigners ³⁵  have invaded your chosen land; ³⁶ 

they have polluted your holy temple

and turned Jerusalem ³⁷  into a heap of ruins.

[3:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).

[3:1]  ² sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).

[3:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “many rise up against me.”

[4:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[4:6]  sn Smile upon us. Though many are discouraged, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and transform the situation.

[5:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “declare/regard them as guilty.” Declaring the psalmist’s adversaries guilty is here metonymic for judging them or paying them back for their wrongdoing.

[5:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “may they fall from their plans.” The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation. The psalmist calls judgment down on the evildoers. Their plans will be their downfall in that God will judge them for their evil schemes.

[5:10]  ⁸ tn Or “banish them.”

[5:10]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew noun used here, פֶּשַׁע (pesha’), refers to rebellious actions. The psalmist pictures his enemies as rebels against God (see the next line).

[27:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[27:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[28:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.

[28:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[28:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”

[28:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”

[28:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[28:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[30:1]  ¹⁸ sn Psalm 30. The author thanks the Lord for delivering him from death and urges others to join him in praise. The psalmist experienced divine discipline for a brief time, but when he cried out for help the Lord intervened and restored his favor.

[30:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a song of the dedication of the house.” The referent of “house” is unclear. It is possible that David wrote this psalm for the dedication ceremony of Solomon’s temple. Another possibility is that the psalm was used on the occasion of the dedication of the second temple following the return from exile, or on the occasion of the rededication of the temple in Maccabean times.

[30:1]  ²⁰ tn Elsewhere the verb דָּלָה (dalah) is used of drawing water from a well (Exod 2:16, 19; Prov 20:5). The psalmist was trapped in the pit leading to Sheol (see v. 3), but the Lord hoisted him up. The Piel stem is used here, perhaps suggesting special exertion on the Lord’s part.

[30:1]  ²¹ tn Or “rejoice.”

[55:1]  ²² sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.

[55:1]  ²³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[55:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “hide yourself from.”

[61:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “you grant the inheritance of those who fear your name.” “Inheritance” is normally used of land which is granted as an inheritance; here it refers metaphorically to the blessings granted God’s loyal followers. To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).

[65:1]  ²⁶ sn Psalm 65. The psalmist praises God because he forgives sin and blesses his people with an abundant harvest.

[65:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “for you, silence, praise.” Many prefer to emend the noun דֻּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”) to a participle דּוֹמִיָּה (domiyyah), from the root דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”), understood here in the sense of “wait.”

[65:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”

[65:5]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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.

[69:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ³² tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ³³ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

[79:1]  ³⁴ sn Psalm 79. The author laments how the invading nations have destroyed the temple and city of Jerusalem. He asks God to forgive his people and to pour out his vengeance on those who have mistreated them.

[79:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “nations.”

[79:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “have come into your inheritance.”

[79:1]  ³⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.