Mazmur 4:7

4:7 You make me happier ¹ 

than those who have abundant grain and wine. ² 

Mazmur 18:17

18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, ³ 

from those who hate me,

for they were too strong for me.

Mazmur 19:10

19:10 They are of greater value ⁴  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ⁵  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Mazmur 35:10

35:10 With all my strength I will say, ⁶ 

“O Lord, who can compare to you?

You rescue ⁷  the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; ⁸ 

the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” ⁹ 

Mazmur 37:16

37:16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than

the wealth of many evil men, ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 40:12

40:12 For innumerable dangers ¹¹  surround me.

My sins overtake me

so I am unable to see;

they outnumber the hairs of my head

so my strength fails me. ¹² 

Mazmur 45:7

45:7 You love ¹³  justice and hate evil. ¹⁴ 

For this reason God, your God ¹⁵  has anointed you ¹⁶ 

with the oil of joy, ¹⁷  elevating you above your companions. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 51:7

51:7 Sprinkle me ¹⁹  with water ²⁰  and I will be pure; ²¹ 

wash me ²²  and I will be whiter than snow. ²³ 

Mazmur 52:3

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ²⁴  (Selah)

Mazmur 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ²⁵ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ²⁶ 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ²⁸ 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ²⁹ 

Mazmur 63:3

63:3 Because ³⁰  experiencing ³¹  your loyal love is better than life itself,

my lips will praise you.

Mazmur 65:3

65:3 Our record of sins overwhelms me, ³² 

but you forgive ³³  our acts of rebellion.

Mazmur 69:4

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, ³⁴  outnumber me. ³⁵ 

They make me repay what I did not steal! ³⁶ 

Mazmur 69:31

69:31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull

with horns and hooves.

Mazmur 76:4

76:4 You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,

as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey. ³⁷ 

Mazmur 84:10

84:10 Certainly ³⁸  spending just one day in your temple courts is better

than spending a thousand elsewhere. ³⁹ 

I would rather stand at the entrance ⁴⁰  to the temple of my God

than live ⁴¹  in the tents of the wicked.

Mazmur 87:2

87:2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

Mazmur 89:7

89:7 a God who is honored ⁴²  in the great angelic assembly, ⁴³ 

and more awesome than ⁴⁴  all who surround him?

Mazmur 93:4

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ⁴⁵ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 96:4

96:4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;

he is more awesome than all gods. ⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 105:24

105:24 The Lord ⁴⁸  made his people very fruitful,

and made them ⁴⁹  more numerous than their ⁵⁰  enemies.

Mazmur 118:8-9

118:8 It is better to take shelter ⁵¹  in the Lord

than to trust in people.

118:9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

Mazmur 118:12

118:12 They surrounded me like bees.

But they disappeared as quickly ⁵²  as a fire among thorns. ⁵³ 

Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.

Mazmur 119:14

119:14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules ⁵⁴ 

as if ⁵⁵  they were riches of all kinds. ⁵⁶ 

Mazmur 119:72

119:72 The law you have revealed is more important to me

than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. ⁵⁷ 

Mazmur 119:98-100

119:98 Your commandments ⁵⁸  make me wiser than my enemies,

for I am always aware of them.

119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your rules.

119:100 I am more discerning than those older than I,

for I observe your precepts.

Mazmur 119:103

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ⁵⁹ 

Mazmur 119:127

119:127 For this reason ⁶⁰  I love your commands

more than gold, even purest gold.

Mazmur 130:6

130:6 I yearn for the Lord, ⁶¹ 

more than watchmen do for the morning,

yes, more than watchmen do for the morning. ⁶² 

Mazmur 138:2

138:2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,

and give thanks to your name,

because of your loyal love and faithfulness,

for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky. ⁶³ 

Mazmur 139:18

139:18 If I tried to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

Even if I finished counting them,

I would still have to contend with you. ⁶⁴ 

Mazmur 142:6

142:6 Listen to my cry for help,

for I am in serious trouble! ⁶⁵ 

Rescue me from those who chase me,

for they are stronger than I am.

[4:7]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[18:17]  ³ tn The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.

[19:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[35:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “all my bones will say.”

[35:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.

[35:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.

[35:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.

[37:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Better [is] a little to the godly one than the wealth of many evil ones.” The following verses explain why this is true. Though a godly individual may seem to have only meager possessions, he always has what he needs and will eventually possess the land. The wicked may prosper for a brief time, but will eventually be destroyed by divine judgment and lose everything.

[40:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).

[40:12]  ¹² tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.

[45:7]  ¹³ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ¹⁴ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.

[51:7]  ¹⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:7]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.

[51:7]  ²² tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:7]  ²³ sn I will be whiter than snow. Whiteness here symbolizes the moral purity resulting from forgiveness (see Isa 1:18).

[52:3]  ²⁴ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[55:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[62:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ²⁹ tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.

[63:3]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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.

[65:3]  ³² tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”

[65:3]  ³³ tn Or “make atonement for.”

[69:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).

[69:4]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).

[69:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.

[69:4]  sn They make me repay what I did not steal. The psalmist’s enemies falsely accuse him and hold him accountable for alleged crimes he did not even commit.

[76:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “radiant [are] you, majestic from the hills of prey.” God is depicted as a victorious king and as a lion that has killed its victims.

[84:10]  ³⁸ tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ³⁹ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).

[84:10]  ⁴¹ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.

[89:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “feared.”

[89:7]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”

[89:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Or perhaps “feared by.”

[93:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

[93:4]  sn The surging waters here symbolizes the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy the order he has established in the world (see Pss 18:17; 29:3; 32:6; 77:20; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). But the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over these raging waters.

[93:4]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

[96:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.

[105:24]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:24]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”

[105:24]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”

[118:8]  ⁵¹ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[118:12]  ⁵² tn Heb “were extinguished.”

[118:12]  ⁵³ tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (do’akhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru, “they burned”). In this case the statement emphasizes their hostility.

[119:14]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “in the way of your rules.”

[119:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “as upon,” meaning “as if” (see 2 Chr 32:19).

[119:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “all wealth.” The phrase refers to all kinds of wealth and riches. See Prov 1:13; 6:31; 24:4; Ezek 27:12, 18.

[119:72]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “better to me [is] the law of your mouth than thousands of gold and silver.”

[119:98]  ⁵⁸ tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The Lord’s “command” refers here to the law (see Ps 19:8).

[119:103]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth.” A few medieval Hebrew mss, as well as several other ancient witnesses, read the plural “your words,” which can then be understood as the subject of the plural verb “they are smooth.”

[119:127]  ⁶⁰ tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.

[130:6]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “my soul for the master.”

[130:6]  ⁶² tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[138:2]  ⁶³ tc The MT reads, “for you have made great over all your name your word.” If retained, this must mean that God's mighty intervention, in fulfillment of his word of promise, surpassed anything he had done prior to this. However, the statement is odd and several emendations have been proposed. Some read, “for you have exalted over everything your name and your word,” while others suggest, “for you have exalted over all the heavens your name and your word.” The translation assumes an emendation of “your name” to “your heavens” (a construction that appears in Pss 8:3 and 144:5). The point is that God has been faithful to his promise and the reliability of that promise is apparent to all. For a fuller discussion of these options, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 244.

[139:18]  ⁶⁴ tc Heb “I awake and I [am] still with you.” A reference to the psalmist awaking from sleep makes little, if any, sense contextually. For this reason some propose an emendation to הֲקִצּוֹתִי (haqitsoti), a Hiphil perfect form from an otherwise unattested verb קָצַץ (qatsats) understood as a denominative of קֵץ (qets, “end”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252-53.

[142:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “for I am very low.”