Mazmur 3:2

3:2 Many say about me,

“God will not deliver him.” ¹  (Selah) ² 

Mazmur 16:2

16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,

my only source of well-being.” ³ 

Mazmur 21:10

21:10 You destroy their offspring ⁴  from the earth,

their descendants ⁵  from among the human race. ⁶ 

Mazmur 26:4

26:4 I do not associate ⁷  with deceitful men,

or consort ⁸  with those who are dishonest. ⁹ 

Mazmur 37:19

37:19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come; ¹⁰ 

when famine comes they will have enough to eat. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 44:6

44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,

and I do not prevail by my sword.

Mazmur 44:12

44:12 You sold ¹²  your people for a pittance; ¹³ 

you did not ask a high price for them. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 49:12

49:12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, ¹⁵ 

they are like animals ¹⁶  that perish. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 49:20

49:20 Wealthy people do not understand; ¹⁸ 

they are like animals ¹⁹  that perish. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 56:11

56:11 in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ²¹  do to me? ²² 

Mazmur 71:11

71:11 They say, ²³  “God has abandoned him.

Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him!”

Mazmur 75:2

75:2 God says, ²⁴ 

“At the appointed times, ²⁵ 

I judge ²⁶  fairly.

Mazmur 78:10

78:10 They did not keep their covenant with God, ²⁷ 

and they refused to obey ²⁸  his law.

Mazmur 78:44

78:44 He turned their rivers into blood,

and they could not drink from their streams.

Mazmur 78:63

78:63 Fire consumed their ²⁹  young men,

and their ³⁰  virgins remained unmarried. ³¹ 

Mazmur 79:3

79:3 They have made their blood flow like water

all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. ³² 

Mazmur 86:7

86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,

for you will answer me.

Mazmur 89:43

89:43 You turn back ³³  his sword from the adversary, ³⁴ 

and have not sustained him in battle. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 94:21

94:21 They conspire against ³⁶  the blameless, ³⁷ 

and condemn to death the innocent. ³⁸ 

Mazmur 102:27

102:27 But you remain; ³⁹ 

your years do not come to an end.

Mazmur 106:24

106:24 They rejected the fruitful land; ⁴⁰ 

they did not believe his promise. ⁴¹ 

Mazmur 107:4

107:4 They wandered through the wilderness on a desert road;

they found no city in which to live.

Mazmur 109:15

109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, ⁴² 

and cut off the memory of his children ⁴³  from the earth!

Mazmur 116:6

116:6 The Lord protects ⁴⁴  the untrained; ⁴⁵ 

I was in serious trouble ⁴⁶  and he delivered me.

Mazmur 119:9

ב (Bet)

119:9 How can a young person ⁴⁷  maintain a pure life? ⁴⁸ 

By guarding it according to your instructions! ⁴⁹ 

Mazmur 119:16

119:16 I find delight ⁵⁰  in your statutes;

I do not forget your instructions. ⁵¹ 

Mazmur 119:93

119:93 I will never forget your precepts,

for by them you have revived me.

Mazmur 119:155

119:155 The wicked have no chance for deliverance, ⁵² 

for they do not seek your statutes.

Mazmur 119:165

119:165 Those who love your law are completely secure; ⁵³ 

nothing causes them to stumble. ⁵⁴ 

Mazmur 129:2

129:2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,

but they have not defeated me.

Mazmur 139:11

139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, ⁵⁵ 

and the light will turn to night all around me,” ⁵⁶ 

Mazmur 139:19

139:19 If only ⁵⁷  you would kill the wicked, O God!

Get away from me, you violent men! ⁵⁸ 

Mazmur 147:5

147:5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power; ⁵⁹ 

there is no limit to his wisdom. ⁶⁰ 

Mazmur 147:17

147:17 He throws his hailstones ⁶¹  like crumbs.

Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? ⁶² 

[3:2]  ¹ tn Heb “there is no deliverance for him in God.”

[3:2]  ² sn The function of the Hebrew term סֶלָה (selah), transliterated here “Selah,” is uncertain. It may be a musical direction of some kind.

[16:2]  ³ tn Heb “my good [is] not beyond you.” For the use of the preposition עַל (’al) in the sense of “beyond,” see BDB 755 s.v. 2.

[21:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.

[21:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “seed.”

[21:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[26:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “sit.”

[26:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.

[26:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”

[37:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in a time of trouble.”

[37:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in days of famine they will be satisfied.”

[44:12]  ¹² tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “for what is not wealth.”

[44:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you did not multiply their purchase prices.”

[49:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “but mankind in honor does not remain.” The construction vav (ו) + noun at the beginning of the verse can be taken as contrastive in relation to what precedes. The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some scholars emend יָלִין (yalin, “remains”) to יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 20.

[49:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “cattle.”

[49:12]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease; destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (“be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [דָּמָה, “be silent,” and דָּמָה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense in v. 20, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

[49:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “mankind in honor does not understand.” The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some emend יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) to יָלִין (yalin, “remains”), but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 12.

[49:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “cattle.”

[49:20]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease, destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [I דָּמַה, “be silent,” and II דָּמַה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense here, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

[56:11]  ²¹ tn The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except “flesh” is used there instead of “man.”

[56:11]  ²² tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[71:11]  ²³ tn Heb “saying.”

[75:2]  ²⁴ tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in vv. 2-3.

[75:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “when I take an appointed time.”

[75:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I, [in] fairness, I judge.” The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically executes fair judgment as he governs the world. One could take this as referring to an anticipated (future) judgment, “I will judge.”

[78:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the covenant of God.”

[78:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “walk in.”

[78:63]  ²⁹ tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

[78:63]  ³⁰ tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).

[78:63]  ³¹ tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.

[79:3]  ³² tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”

[89:43]  ³³ tn The perfect verbal form predominates in vv. 38-45. The use of the imperfect in this one instance may be for rhetorical effect. The psalmist briefly lapses into dramatic mode, describing the king’s military defeat as if it were happening before his very eyes.

[89:43]  ³⁴ tc Heb “you turn back, rocky summit, his sword.” The Hebrew term צוּר (tsur, “rocky summit”) makes no sense here, unless it is a divine title understood as vocative, “you turn back, O Rocky Summit, his sword.” Some emend the form to צֹר (tsor, “flint”) on the basis of Josh 5:2, which uses the phrase חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים (kharvot tsurim, “flint knives”). The noun צֹר (tsor, “flint”) can then be taken as “flint-like edge,” indicating the sharpness of the sword. Others emend the form to אָחוֹר (’akhor, “backward”) or to מִצַּר (mitsar, “from the adversary”). The present translation reflects the latter, assuming an original reading תָּשִׁיב מִצָּר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv mitsar kharbo), which was corrupted to תָּשִׁיב צָר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv tsar kharbo) by virtual haplography (confusion of bet/mem is well-attested) with צָר (tsar, “adversary”) then being misinterpreted as צוּר in the later tradition.

[89:43]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and you have not caused him to stand in the battle.”

[94:21]  ³⁶ tn Or “attack.”

[94:21]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the life of the blameless.”

[94:21]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and the blood of the innocent they declare guilty.”

[102:27]  ³⁹ tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the Lord’s affirmation “I am he” in Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:10; 48:12. In each of these passages the affirmation emphasizes the fact that the Lord transcends time limitations, the very point being made in Ps 102:27.

[106:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “a land of delight” (see also Jer 3:19; Zech 7:14).

[106:24]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “his word.”

[109:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”

[109:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.

[116:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.

[116:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.

[116:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “I was low.”

[119:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “young man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender specific “young man” has been translated with the more neutral “young person.”

[119:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “purify his path.”

[119:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “by keeping according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”

[119:16]  ⁵⁰ tn The imperfects in this verse emphasize the attitude the psalmist maintains toward God’s law. Another option is to translate with the future tense, “I will find delight…I will not forget.”

[119:16]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural here.

[119:155]  ⁵² tn Heb “far from the wicked [is] deliverance.”

[119:165]  ⁵³ tn Heb “great peace [is] to the lovers of your law.”

[119:165]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and there is no stumbling to them.”

[139:11]  ⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.

[139:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”

[139:19]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).

[139:19]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”

[147:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and great of strength.”

[147:5]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “to his wisdom there is no counting.”

[147:17]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “his ice.”

[147:17]  ⁶² tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”