Mazmur 51:7

51:7 Sprinkle me ¹  with water ²  and I will be pure; ³ 

wash me ⁴  and I will be whiter than snow. ⁵ 

Mazmur 104:15

104:15 as well as wine that makes people feel so good, ⁶ 

and so they can have oil to make their faces shine, ⁷ 

as well as food that sustains people’s lives. ⁸ 

[51:7]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.

[51:7]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:7]  ⁵ sn I will be whiter than snow. Whiteness here symbolizes the moral purity resulting from forgiveness (see Isa 1:18).

[104:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “and wine [that] makes the heart of man happy.”

[104:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “to make [the] face shine from oil.” The Hebrew verb צָהַל (tsahal, “to shine”) occurs only here in the OT. It appears to be an alternate form of צָהַר (tsahar), a derivative from צָהָרִים (tsaharim, “noon”).

[104:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and food [that] sustains the heart of man.”