Mazmur 43:1--44:25
Konteks43:1 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me 2 against an ungodly nation!
Deliver me 3 from deceitful and evil men! 4
43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. 5
Why do you reject me? 6
Why must I walk around 7 mourning 8
because my enemies oppress me?
43:3 Reveal 9 your light 10 and your faithfulness!
They will lead me, 11
they will escort 12 me back to your holy hill, 13
and to the place where you live. 14
43:4 Then I will go 15 to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, 16
so that I express my thanks to you, 17 O God, my God, with a harp.
43:5 Why are you depressed, 18 O my soul? 19
Why are you upset? 20
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 21
For the music director; by the Korahites, a well-written song. 23
44:1 O God, we have clearly heard; 24
our ancestors 25 have told us
what you did 26 in their days,
in ancient times. 27
44:2 You, by your power, 28 defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land; 29
you crushed 30 the people living there 31 and enabled our ancestors to occupy it. 32
44:3 For they did not conquer 33 the land by their swords,
and they did not prevail by their strength, 34
but rather by your power, 35 strength 36 and good favor, 37
for you were partial to 38 them.
44:4 You are my 39 king, O God!
Decree 40 Jacob’s 41 deliverance!
44:5 By your power 42 we will drive back 43 our enemies;
by your strength 44 we will trample down 45 our foes! 46
44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and I do not prevail by my sword.
44:7 For you deliver 47 us from our enemies;
you humiliate 48 those who hate us.
44:8 In God I boast all day long,
and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)
44:9 But 49 you rejected and embarrassed us!
You did not go into battle with our armies. 50
44:10 You made us retreat 51 from the enemy.
Those who hate us take whatever they want from us. 52
44:11 You handed us 53 over like sheep to be eaten;
you scattered us among the nations.
44:12 You sold 54 your people for a pittance; 55
you did not ask a high price for them. 56
44:13 You made us 57 an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. 58
44:14 You made us 59 an object of ridicule 60 among the nations;
foreigners treat us with contempt. 61
44:15 All day long I feel humiliated 62
and am overwhelmed with shame, 63
44:16 before the vindictive enemy
who ridicules and insults me. 64
44:17 All this has happened to us, even though we have not rejected you 65
or violated your covenant with us. 66
44:18 We have not been unfaithful, 67
nor have we disobeyed your commands. 68
44:19 Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs; 69
you have covered us with darkness. 70
44:20 If we had rejected our God, 71
and spread out our hands in prayer to another god, 72
44:21 would not God discover it,
for he knows 73 one’s thoughts? 74
44:22 Yet because of you 75 we are killed all day long;
we are treated like 76 sheep at the slaughtering block. 77
44:23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Wake up! 78 Do not reject us forever!
44:24 Why do you look the other way, 79
and ignore 80 the way we are oppressed and mistreated? 81
44:25 For we lie in the dirt,
with our bellies pressed to the ground. 82
Mazmur 51:1-17
KonteksFor the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba. 84
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of 85 your loyal love!
Because of 86 your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! 87
51:2 Wash away my wrongdoing! 88
Cleanse me of my sin! 89
51:3 For I am aware of 90 my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin. 91
51:4 Against you – you above all 92 – I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So 93 you are just when you confront me; 94
you are right when you condemn me. 95
51:5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,
a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. 96
51:6 Look, 97 you desire 98 integrity in the inner man; 99
you want me to possess wisdom. 100
51:7 Sprinkle me 101 with water 102 and I will be pure; 103
wash me 104 and I will be whiter than snow. 105
51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! 106
May the bones 107 you crushed rejoice! 108
51:9 Hide your face 109 from my sins!
Wipe away 110 all my guilt!
51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! 111
Renew a resolute spirit within me! 112
Do not take your Holy Spirit 114 away from me! 115
51:12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! 116
51:13 Then I will teach 117 rebels your merciful ways, 118
and sinners will turn 119 to you.
51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, 120 O God, the God who delivers me!
Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. 121
51:15 O Lord, give me the words! 122
Then my mouth will praise you. 123
51:16 Certainly 124 you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; 125
you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. 126
51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit 127 –
O God, a humble and repentant heart 128 you will not reject. 129
Mazmur 63:1-10
KonteksA psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. 131
63:1 O God, you are my God! I long for you! 132
My soul thirsts 133 for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and parched 134 land where there is no water.
63:2 Yes, 135 in the sanctuary I have seen you, 136
and witnessed 137 your power and splendor.
63:3 Because 138 experiencing 139 your loyal love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.
63:4 For this reason 140 I will praise you while I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands. 141
63:5 As if with choice meat 142 you satisfy my soul. 143
My mouth joyfully praises you, 144
63:6 whenever 145 I remember you on my bed,
and think about you during the nighttime hours.
63:7 For you are my deliverer; 146
under your wings 147 I rejoice.
63:8 My soul 148 pursues you; 149
your right hand upholds me.
63:9 Enemies seek to destroy my life, 150
but they will descend into the depths of the earth. 151
63:10 Each one will be handed over to the sword; 152
their corpses will be eaten by jackals. 153
Mazmur 74:1-23
KonteksA well-written song 155 by Asaph.
74:1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? 156
Why does your anger burn 157 against the sheep of your pasture?
74:2 Remember your people 158 whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued 159 so they could be your very own nation, 160
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!
74:3 Hurry and look 161 at the permanent ruins,
and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! 162
74:4 Your enemies roar 163 in the middle of your sanctuary; 164
they set up their battle flags. 165
74:5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest. 166
74:6 And now 167 they are tearing down 168 all its engravings 169
with axes 170 and crowbars. 171
74:7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground. 172
74:8 They say to themselves, 173
“We will oppress all of them.” 174
They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land. 175
74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; 176
there are no longer any prophets 177
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. 178
74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
74:11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him! 179
74:12 But God has been my 180 king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth. 181
74:13 You destroyed 182 the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster 183 in the water.
74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; 184
you fed 185 him to the people who live along the coast. 186
74:15 You broke open the spring and the stream; 187
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers. 188
74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; 189
you put the moon 190 and sun in place. 191
74:17 You set up all the boundaries 192 of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter. 193
74:18 Remember how 194 the enemy hurls insults, O Lord, 195
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name!
74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove 196 over to a wild animal!
Do not continue to disregard 197 the lives of your oppressed people!
74:20 Remember your covenant promises, 198
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules. 199
74:21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame!
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! 200
74:22 Rise up, O God! Defend your honor! 201
Remember how fools insult you all day long! 202
74:23 Do not disregard 203 what your enemies say, 204
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you. 205
[43:1] 1 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew
[43:1] 2 tn Or “argue my case.”
[43:1] 3 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.
[43:1] 4 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.
[43:2] 5 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
[43:2] 6 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
[43:2] 7 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
[43:2] 8 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
[43:3] 10 sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.
[43:3] 11 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
[43:3] 13 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
[43:3] 14 tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the
[43:4] 15 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”
[43:4] 16 tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
[43:4] 17 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
[43:5] 18 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[43:5] 19 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[43:5] 20 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
[43:5] 21 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 identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.
[44:1] 22 sn Psalm 44. The speakers in this psalm (the worshiping community within the nation Israel) were disappointed with God. The psalm begins on a positive note, praising God for leading Israel to past military victories. Verses 1-8 appear to be a song of confidence and petition which the people recited prior to battle. But suddenly the mood changes as the nation laments a recent defeat. The stark contrast between the present and the past only heightens the nation’s confusion. Israel trusted in God for victory, but the Lord rejected them and allowed them to be humiliated in battle. If Israel had been unfaithful to God, their defeat would make sense, but the nation was loyal to the Lord. Comparing the Lord to a careless shepherd, the nation urges God to wake up and to extend his compassion to his suffering people.
[44:1] 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 42.
[44:1] 24 tn Heb “with our ears we have heard.”
[44:1] 25 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 2; the same Hebrew word may be translated either “fathers” or “ancestors” depending on the context.
[44:1] 26 tn Heb “the work you worked.”
[44:1] 27 tn Heb “in the days of old.” This refers specifically to the days of Joshua, during Israel’s conquest of the land, as vv. 2-3 indicate.
[44:2] 28 tn Heb “you, your hand.”
[44:2] 29 tn Heb “dispossessed nations and planted them.” The third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1). See Ps 80:8, 15.
[44:2] 30 tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Hiphil preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive) from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil; be bad”). If retained it apparently means, “you injured; harmed.” Some prefer to derive the verb from רָעַע (“break”; cf. NEB “breaking up the peoples”), in which case the form must be revocalized as Qal (since this verb is unattested in the Hiphil).
[44:2] 32 tn Heb “and you sent them out.” The translation assumes that the third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1), as in the preceding parallel line. See Ps 80:11, where Israel, likened to a vine, “spreads out” its tendrils to the west and east. Another option is to take the “peoples” as the referent of the pronoun and translate, “and you sent them away,” though this does not provide as tight a parallel with the corresponding line.
[44:3] 33 tn Or “take possession of.”
[44:3] 34 tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.
[44:3] 35 tn Heb “your right hand.” The
[44:3] 37 tn Heb “light of your face.” 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 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[44:3] 38 tn Or “favorable toward.”
[44:4] 39 sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.
[44:4] 40 tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).
[44:4] tn Or “command.” This may be the Israelites’ petition prior to the battle. See the introductory note to the psalm.
[44:4] 41 tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.
[44:5] 43 tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”
[44:5] sn The Hebrew verb translated “drive back” is literally “gore”; the imagery is that of a powerful wild ox that “gores” its enemies and tramples them underfoot.
[44:5] 44 tn Heb “in your name.” The
[44:5] 45 sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.
[44:5] 46 tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”
[44:7] 47 tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).
[44:7] 48 tn Or “have humiliated,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).
[44:9] 49 tn The particle אַף (’af, “but”) is used here as a strong adversative contrasting the following statement with what precedes.
[44:9] 50 tn Heb “you did not go out with our armies.” The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).
[44:10] 51 tn Heb “you caused us to turn backward.”
[44:10] 52 tn Heb “plunder for themselves.” The prepositional phrase לָמוֹ (lamo, “for themselves”) here has the nuance “at their will” or “as they please” (see Ps 80:6).
[44:11] 53 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).
[44:12] 54 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).
[44:12] 55 tn Heb “for what is not wealth.”
[44:12] 56 tn Heb “you did not multiply their purchase prices.”
[44:13] 57 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).
[44:13] 58 tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.”
[44:14] 59 tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).
[44:14] 60 tn Heb “a proverb,” or “[the subject of] a mocking song.”
[44:14] 61 tn Heb “a shaking of the head among the peoples.” Shaking the head was a derisive gesture (see Jer 18:16; Lam 2:15).
[44:15] 62 tn Heb “all the day my humiliation [is] in front of me.”
[44:15] 63 tn Heb “and the shame of my face covers me.”
[44:16] 64 tn Heb “from the voice of one who ridicules and insults, from the face of an enemy and an avenger.” See Ps 8:2.
[44:17] 65 tn Heb “we have not forgotten you.” To “forget” God refers here to worshiping false gods and thereby refusing to recognize his sovereignty (see v. 20, as well as Deut 8:19; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; Isa 17:10; Jer 3:21; Ps 9:17).Thus the translation “we have not rejected you” has been used.
[44:17] 66 tn Heb “and we did not deal falsely with your covenant.”
[44:18] 67 tn Heb “our heart did not turn backward.” Cf. Ps 78:57.
[44:18] 68 tn Heb “and our steps did [not] turn aside from your path.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line). God’s “path” refers to his commands, i.e., the moral pathway he has prescribed for the psalmist. See Pss 17:5; 25:4.
[44:19] 69 tn Heb “yet you have battered us in a place of jackals.”
[44:19] 70 tn The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל+מָוֶת [mavet + tsel]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other scholars prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness” (cf. NIV, NRSV). An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 44:19 darkness symbolizes defeat and humiliation.
[44:20] 71 tn Heb “If we had forgotten the name of our God.” To “forget the name” here refers to rejecting the
[44:20] 72 tn Heb “and spread out your hands to another god.” Spreading out the hands was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). In its most fundamental sense זר (“another; foreign; strange”) refers to something that is outside one’s circle, often making association with it inappropriate. A “strange” god is an alien deity, an “outside god” (see L. A. Snijders, TDOT 4:54-55).
[44:21] 73 tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.
[44:21] 74 tn Heb “would not God search out this, for he knows the hidden things of [the] heart?” The expression “search out” is used metonymically here, referring to discovery, the intended effect of a search. The “heart” (i.e., mind) is here viewed as the seat of one’s thoughts. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he would!” The point seems to be this: There is no way the Israelites who are the speakers in the psalm would reject God and turn to another god, for the omniscient God would easily discover such a sin.
[44:22] 75 tn The statement “because of you” (1) may simply indicate that God is the cause of the Israelites’ defeat (see vv. 9-14, where the nation’s situation is attributed directly to God’s activity, and cf. NEB, NRSV), or (2) it may suggest they suffer because of their allegiance to God (see Ps 69:7 and Jer 15:15). In this case one should translate, “for your sake” (cf. NASB, NIV). The citation of this verse in Rom 8:36 follows the LXX (Ps 43:23 LXX), where the Greek term ἕνεκεν (Jeneken; LXX ἕνεκα) may likewise mean “because of” or “for the sake of” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἕνεκα 1).
[44:22] 76 tn Or “regarded as.”
[44:22] 77 tn Heb “like sheep of slaughtering,” that is, sheep destined for slaughter.
[44:23] 78 sn Wake up! See Ps 35:23.
[44:24] 79 tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” 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).
[44:24] 81 tn Heb “our oppression and our affliction.”
[44:25] 82 tn Heb “for our being/life sinks down to the dirt, our belly clings to the earth.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
[51:1] 83 sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586
[51:1] 84 tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”
[51:1] 85 tn Or “according to.”
[51:1] 86 tn Or “according to.”
[51:1] 87 tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”
[51:2] 88 tn Heb “Thoroughly wash me from my wrongdoing.”
[51:2] 89 sn In vv. 1b-2 the psalmist uses three different words to emphasize the multifaceted character and degree of his sin. Whatever one wants to call it (“rebellious acts,” “wrongdoing,” “sin”), he has done it and stands morally polluted in God’s sight. The same three words appear in Exod 34:7, which emphasizes that God is willing to forgive sin in all of its many dimensions. In v. 2 the psalmist compares forgiveness and restoration to physical cleansing. Perhaps he likens spiritual cleansing to the purification rites of priestly law.
[51:3] 91 tn Heb “and my sin [is] in front of me continually.”
[51:4] 92 tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”
[51:4] 93 tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.
[51:4] 94 tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).
[51:4] 95 tn Heb “when you judge.”
[51:5] 96 tn Heb “Look, in wrongdoing I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The prefixed verbal form in the second line is probably a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive), stating a simple historical fact. The psalmist is not suggesting that he was conceived through an inappropriate sexual relationship (although the verse has sometimes been understood to mean that, or even that all sexual relationships are sinful). The psalmist’s point is that he has been a sinner from the very moment his personal existence began. By going back beyond the time of birth to the moment of conception, the psalmist makes his point more emphatically in the second line than in the first.
[51:6] 97 sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.
[51:6] 98 tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.
[51:6] 99 tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.
[51:6] 100 tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).
[51:6] sn You want me to possess wisdom. Here “wisdom” does not mean “intelligence” or “learning,” but refers to moral insight and skill.
[51:7] 101 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:7] 102 tn Heb “cleanse me with hyssop.” “Hyssop” was a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33) used to apply water (or blood) in purification rites (see Exod 12:22; Lev 14:4-6, 49-52; Num 19:6-18. The psalmist uses the language and imagery of such rites to describe spiritual cleansing through forgiveness.
[51:7] 103 tn After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.
[51:7] 104 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:7] 105 sn I will be whiter than snow. Whiteness here symbolizes the moral purity resulting from forgiveness (see Isa 1:18).
[51:8] 106 tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.
[51:8] 107 sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.
[51:8] 108 tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:9] 109 sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”
[51:9] 110 tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.
[51:10] 111 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.
[51:10] 112 tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”
[51:11] 113 tn Heb “do not cast me away from before you.”
[51:11] 114 sn Your Holy Spirit. The personal Spirit of God is mentioned frequently in the OT, but only here and in Isa 63:10-11 is he called “your/his Holy Spirit.”
[51:11] 115 sn Do not take…away. The psalmist expresses his fear that, due to his sin, God will take away the Holy Spirit from him. NT believers enjoy the permanent gift of the Holy Spirit and need not make such a request nor fear such a consequence. However, in the OT God’s Spirit empowered certain individuals for special tasks and only temporarily resided in them. For example, when God rejected Saul as king and chose David to replace him, the divine Spirit left Saul and came upon David (1 Sam 16:13-14).
[51:12] 116 tn Heb “and [with] a willing spirit sustain me.” The psalmist asks that God make him the kind of person who willingly obeys the divine commandments. The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:13] 117 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.
[51:13] 118 tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).
[51:13] 119 tn Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.
[51:14] 120 tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.
[51:14] 121 tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).
[51:15] 122 tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:15] 123 tn Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”
[51:16] 124 tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.
[51:16] 125 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)
[51:16] 126 sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.
[51:17] 127 tn Heb “a broken spirit.”
[51:17] 128 tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”
[63:1] 130 sn Psalm 63. The psalmist expresses his intense desire to be in God’s presence and confidently affirms that God will judge his enemies.
[63:1] 131 sn According to the psalm superscription David wrote the psalm while in the “wilderness of Judah.” Perhaps this refers to the period described in 1 Sam 23-24 or to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam 15:23.
[63:1] 132 tn Or “I will seek you.”
[63:1] 134 tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” This may picture the land as “faint” or “weary,” or it may allude to the effect this dry desert has on those who are forced to live in it.
[63:2] 135 tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).
[63:2] 136 tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”
[63:2] 137 tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.
[63:3] 138 tn This line is understood as giving the basis for the praise promised in the following line. Another option is to take the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) as asseverative/emphasizing, “Indeed, your loyal love is better” (cf. NEB, which leaves the particle untranslated).
[63:3] 139 tn The word “experiencing” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist does not speak here of divine loyal love in some abstract sense, but of loyal love revealed and experienced.
[63:4] 140 tn Or perhaps “then.”
[63:4] 141 sn I will lift up my hands. Lifting up one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19) or respect (Ps 119:48).
[63:5] 142 tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”
[63:5] 144 tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”
[63:6] 145 tn The Hebrew term אִם (’im) is used here in the sense of “when; whenever,” as in Ps 78:34.
[63:7] 146 tn Or “[source of] help.”
[63:7] 147 tn Heb “in the shadow of your wings.”
[63:8] 148 tn Or “I.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
[63:8] 149 tn Heb “clings after.” The expression means “to pursue with determination” (see Judg 20:45; 1 Sam 14:22; 1 Chr 10:2; Jer 42:16).
[63:9] 150 tn Heb “but they for destruction seek my life.” The pronoun “they” must refer here to the psalmist’s enemies, referred to at this point for the first time in the psalm.
[63:9] 151 sn The depths of the earth refers here to the underworld dwelling place of the dead (see Ezek 26:20; 31:14, 16, 18; 32:18, 24). See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 167.
[63:10] 152 tn Heb “they will deliver him over to the sword.” The third masculine plural subject must be indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f) and the singular pronominal suffix either representative or distributive (emphasizing that each one will be so treated). Active verbs with indefinite subjects may be translated as passives with the object (in the Hebrew text) as subject (in the translation).
[63:10] 153 tn Heb “they will be [the] portion of jackals”; traditionally, “of foxes.”
[74:1] 154 sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586
[74:1] 155 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
[74:1] 156 sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.
[74:1] 157 tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.
[74:2] 158 tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.
[74:2] 159 tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).
[74:2] 160 tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).
[74:3] 161 tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”
[74:3] 162 tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”
[74:4] 163 tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.
[74:4] 164 tn Heb “your meeting place.”
[74:4] 165 tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).
[74:5] 166 tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.
[74:6] 167 tn This is the reading of the Qere (marginal reading). The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and a time.”
[74:6] 168 tn The imperfect verbal form vividly describes the act as underway.
[74:6] 169 tn Heb “its engravings together.”
[74:6] 170 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 49-50).
[74:6] 171 tn This Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. An Akkadian cognate refers to a “pickaxe” (cf. NEB “hatchet and pick”; NIV “axes and hatchets”; NRSV “hatchets and hammers”).
[74:7] 172 tn Heb “to the ground they desecrate the dwelling place of your name.”
[74:8] 173 tn Heb “in their heart.”
[74:8] 174 tc Heb “[?] altogether.” The Hebrew form נִינָם (ninam) is problematic. It could be understood as the noun נִין (nin, “offspring”) but the statement “their offspring altogether” would make no sense here. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:159) emends יָחַד (yakhad, “altogether”) to יָחִיד (yakhid, “alone”) and translate “let their offspring be solitary” (i.e., exiled). Another option is to understand the form as a Qal imperfect first common plural from יָנָה (yanah, “to oppress”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix, “we will oppress them.” However, this verb, when used in the finite form, always appears in the Hiphil. Therefore, it is preferable to emend the form to the Hiphil נוֹנֵם (nonem, “we will oppress them”).
[74:8] 175 tn Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”
[74:9] 176 tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).
[74:9] 177 tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”
[74:9] 178 tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”
[74:11] 179 tn Heb “Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? From the midst of your chest, destroy!” The psalmist pictures God as having placed his right hand (symbolic of activity and strength) inside his robe against his chest. He prays that God would pull his hand out from under his robe and use it to destroy the enemy.
[74:12] 180 tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.
[74:12] 181 tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”
[74:13] 182 tn The derivation and meaning of the Polel verb form פּוֹרַרְתָּ (porarta) are uncertain. The form may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “break, shatter,” though the biblical Hebrew cognate of this verb always appears in the Hiphil or Hophal stem. BDB 830 s.v. II פָּרַר suggests a homonym here, meaning “to split; to divide.” A Hitpolel form of a root פָּרַר (parar) appears in Isa 24:19 with the meaning “to shake violently.”
[74:13] 183 tn The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has been misunderstood as a plural ending. The imagery of the mythological sea monster is utilized here. See the note on “Leviathan” in v. 14.
[74:14] 184 sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (’aqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.
[74:14] 185 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.
[74:14] 186 sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).
[74:15] 187 sn You broke open the spring and the stream. Perhaps this alludes to the way in which God provided water for the Israelites as they traveled in the wilderness following the exodus (see Ps 78:15-16, 20; 105:41).
[74:15] 188 sn Perpetually flowing rivers are rivers that contain water year round, unlike the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season. Perhaps the psalmist here alludes to the drying up of the Jordan River when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan under Joshua (see Josh 3-4).
[74:16] 189 tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”
[74:16] 190 tn Heb “[the] light.” Following the reference to “day and night” and in combination with “sun,” it is likely that the Hebrew term מָאוֹר (ma’or, “light”) refers here to the moon.
[74:16] 191 tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”
[74:17] 192 tn This would appear to refer to geographical boundaries, such as mountains, rivers, and seacoasts. However, since the day-night cycle has just been mentioned (v. 16) and the next line speaks of the seasons, it is possible that “boundaries” here refers to the divisions of the seasons. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:156.
[74:17] 193 tn Heb “summer and winter, you, you formed them.”
[74:18] 194 tn Heb “remember this.”
[74:18] 195 tn Or “[how] the enemy insults the
[74:19] 196 sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.
[74:19] 197 tn Heb “do not forget forever.”
[74:20] 198 tc Heb “look at the covenant.” The LXX reads “your covenant,” which seems to assume a second person pronominal suffix. The suffix may have been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word (כִּי) begins with kaf (כ).
[74:20] 199 tn Heb “for the dark places of the earth are full of dwelling places of violence.” The “dark regions” are probably the lands where the people have been exiled (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:157). In some contexts “dark regions” refers to Sheol (Ps 88:6) or to hiding places likened to Sheol (Ps 143:3; Lam 3:6).
[74:21] 200 sn Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! The statement is metonymic. The point is this: May the oppressed be delivered from their enemies! Then they will have ample reason to praise God’s name.
[74:22] 201 tn Or “defend your cause.”
[74:22] 202 tn Heb “remember your reproach from a fool all the day.”
[74:23] 204 tn Heb “the voice of your enemies.”
[74:23] 205 tn Heb “the roar of those who rise up against you, which ascends continually.”
