Mazmur 52:8

52:8 But I ¹  am like a flourishing ²  olive tree in the house of God;

I continually ³  trust in God’s loyal love.

Mazmur 89:14

89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. ⁴ 

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. ⁵ 

Mazmur 142:3

142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, ⁶ 

you watch my footsteps. ⁷ 

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

Mazmur 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ⁸ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ⁹ 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 89:49

89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, ¹¹  O Lord, ¹² 

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? ¹³ 

Mazmur 140:5

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ¹⁴  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

[52:8]  ¹ tn The disjunctive construction (vav [ו] + subject) highlights the contrast between the evildoer’s destiny (vv. 5-7) and that of the godly psalmist’s security.

[52:8]  ² tn Or “luxuriant, green, leafy.”

[52:8]  ³ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever and ever.”

[89:14]  ⁴ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[89:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).

[142:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[142:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “you know my path.”

[5:8]  ⁸ tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.

[5:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).

[89:49]  ¹¹ sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.

[89:49]  ¹² tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:49]  ¹³ tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”

[140:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).