Mazmur 42:11

42:11 Why are you depressed, ¹  O my soul? ² 

Why are you upset? ³ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. 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 48:8

48:8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds, now we have seen them, ¹¹ 

in the city of the Lord, the invincible Warrior, ¹² 

in the city of our God.

God makes it permanently secure. ¹³  (Selah)

[42:11]  ¹ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:11]  ² sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:11]  ³ tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[42:11]  ⁴ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.

[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.

[48:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “As we have heard, so we have seen.” The community had heard about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history. Having personally witnessed his saving power with their own eyes, they could now affirm that the tradition was not exaggerated or inaccurate.

[48:8]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord of hosts.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Pss 24:10; 46:7, 11).

[48:8]  ¹³ tn Or “God makes it secure forever.” The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.