Mazmur 4:6-7

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

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

4:7 You make me happier ² 

than those who have abundant grain and wine. ³ 

Mazmur 27:4

27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –

this is what I desire!

I want to live ⁴  in the Lord’s house ⁵  all the days of my life,

so I can gaze at the splendor ⁶  of the Lord

and contemplate in his temple.

Mazmur 63:2-5

63:2 Yes, ⁷  in the sanctuary I have seen you, ⁸ 

and witnessed ⁹  your power and splendor.

63:3 Because ¹⁰  experiencing ¹¹  your loyal love is better than life itself,

my lips will praise you.

63:4 For this reason ¹²  I will praise you while I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands. ¹³ 

63:5 As if with choice meat ¹⁴  you satisfy my soul. ¹⁵ 

My mouth joyfully praises you, ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 73:28

73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. ¹⁷ 

I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,

as ¹⁸  I declare all the things you have done.

[4:6]  ¹ 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.

[4:7]  ² tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”

[4:7]  ³ tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[27:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “my living.”

[27:4]  ⁵ sn The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[27:4]  ⁶ tn Or “beauty.”

[63:2]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

[63:2]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[63:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or perhaps “then.”

[63:4]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”

[63:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “me.”

[63:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”

[73:28]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”

[73:28]  ¹⁸ tn The infinitive construct with -לְ (lÿ) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).