Mazmur 47:9

47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,

along with the people of the God of Abraham, ¹ 

for God has authority over the rulers ²  of the earth.

He is highly exalted! ³ 

Mazmur 56:4

56:4 In God – I boast in his promise ⁴  –

in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ⁵  do to me? ⁶ 

Mazmur 62:1

Psalm 62 ⁷ 

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

62:1 For God alone I patiently wait; ⁸ 

he is the one who delivers me. ⁹ 

[47:9]  ¹ tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (’im ’am, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic (the consonantal sequence ayin-mem [עם] being written once instead of twice). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.

[47:9]  ² tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.

[47:9]  ³ tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.

[56:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “in God I boast, his word.” The syntax in the Hebrew text is difficult. (1) The line could be translated, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” Such a translation assumes that the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and that “his word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. Another option (2) is to translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” is a song of praise. (In this view the pronominal suffix “his” must be omitted as in v. 10.) The present translation reflects yet another option (3): In this case “I praise his word” is a parenthetical statement, with “his word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in the next line, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.

[56:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “flesh,” which refers by metonymy to human beings (see v. 11, where “man” is used in this same question), envisioned here as mortal and powerless before God.

[56:4]  ⁶ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[62:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.

[62:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”

[62:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”