Mazmur 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ¹ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ² 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ³ 

Mazmur 13:2

13:2 How long must I worry, ⁴ 

and suffer in broad daylight? ⁵ 

How long will my enemy gloat over me? ⁶ 

Mazmur 16:7

16:7 I will praise ⁷  the Lord who ⁸  guides ⁹  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 22:23

22:23 You loyal followers of the Lord, ¹¹  praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him! ¹² 

Mazmur 25:4

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ¹³ 

Mazmur 25:12

25:12 The Lord shows his faithful followers

the way they should live. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 27:1

Psalm 27 ¹⁵ 

By David.

27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! ¹⁶ 

I fear no one! ¹⁷ 

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one! ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 27:11

27:11 Teach me how you want me to live; ¹⁹ 

lead me along a level path ²⁰  because of those who wait to ambush me! ²¹ 

Mazmur 32:8-9

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ²²  about how you should live. ²³ 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ²⁴ 

32:9 Do not be ²⁵  like an unintelligent horse or mule, ²⁶ 

which will not obey you

unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 34:10

34:10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Mazmur 37:23

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ²⁸ 

Mazmur 42:9

42:9 I will pray ²⁹  to God, my high ridge: ³⁰ 

“Why do you ignore ³¹  me?

Why must I walk around mourning ³² 

because my enemies oppress me?”

Mazmur 43:2

43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. ³³ 

Why do you reject me? ³⁴ 

Why must I walk around ³⁵  mourning ³⁶ 

because my enemies oppress me?

Mazmur 49:10

49:10 Surely ³⁷  one sees ³⁸  that even wise people die; ³⁹ 

fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away ⁴⁰ 

and leave their wealth to others. ⁴¹ 

Mazmur 49:12

49:12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, ⁴² 

they are like animals ⁴³  that perish. ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 49:20

49:20 Wealthy people do not understand; ⁴⁵ 

they are like animals ⁴⁶  that perish. ⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 62:2

62:2 He alone is my protector ⁴⁸  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ⁴⁹  I will not be upended. ⁵⁰ 

Mazmur 62:6

62:6 He alone is my protector ⁵¹  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ⁵²  I will not be upended. ⁵³ 

Mazmur 68:6

68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; ⁵⁴ 

he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. ⁵⁵ 

But sinful rebels live in the desert. ⁵⁶ 

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, ⁵⁷  outnumber me. ⁵⁸ 

They make me repay what I did not steal! ⁵⁹ 

Mazmur 73:10

73:10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat,

and even suck up the water of the sea. ⁶⁰ 

Mazmur 73:12

73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, ⁶¹ 

those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. ⁶² 

Mazmur 75:8

75:8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup full

of foaming wine mixed with spices, ⁶³ 

and pours it out. ⁶⁴ 

Surely all the wicked of the earth

will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.” ⁶⁵ 

Mazmur 76:11

76:11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them!

Let all those who surround him ⁶⁶  bring tribute to the awesome one!

Mazmur 78:5

78:5 He established a rule ⁶⁷  in Jacob;

he set up a law in Israel.

He commanded our ancestors

to make his deeds known to their descendants, ⁶⁸ 

Mazmur 82:7

82:7 Yet you will die like mortals; ⁶⁹ 

you will fall like all the other rulers.” ⁷⁰ 

Mazmur 86:11

86:11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live! ⁷¹ 

Then I will obey your commands. ⁷² 

Make me wholeheartedly committed to you! ⁷³ 

Mazmur 88:5

88:5 adrift ⁷⁴  among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power. ⁷⁵ 

Mazmur 96:4

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

he is more awesome than all gods. ⁷⁶ 

Mazmur 97:7

97:7 All who worship idols are ashamed,

those who boast about worthless idols.

All the gods bow down before him. ⁷⁷ 

Mazmur 111:10

111:10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; ⁷⁸ 

all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. ⁷⁹ 

He will receive praise forever. ⁸⁰ 

Mazmur 113:3

113:3 From east to west ⁸¹ 

the Lord’s name is deserving of praise.

Mazmur 115:1-2

Psalm 115 ⁸² 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ⁸³ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ⁸⁴ 

115:2 Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

Mazmur 118:6

118:6 The Lord is on my side, ⁸⁵  I am not afraid!

What can people do to me? ⁸⁶ 

Mazmur 119:33

ה (He)

119:33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes, ⁸⁷ 

so that I might observe it continually. ⁸⁸ 

Mazmur 119:84

119:84 How long must your servant endure this? ⁸⁹ 

When will you judge those who pursue me?

Mazmur 120:5

120:5 How miserable I am! ⁹⁰ 

For I have lived temporarily ⁹¹  in Meshech;

I have resided among the tents of Kedar. ⁹² 

Mazmur 121:1

Psalm 121 ⁹³ 

A song of ascents. ⁹⁴ 

121:1 I look up ⁹⁵  toward the hills.

From where ⁹⁶  does my help come?

Mazmur 132:2

132:2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,

and swore an oath to the powerful ruler of Jacob. ⁹⁷ 

Mazmur 139:3

139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; ⁹⁸ 

you are aware of everything I do. ⁹⁹ 

Mazmur 139:21

139:21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,

and despise those who oppose you? ¹⁰⁰ 

Mazmur 142:3

142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, ¹⁰¹ 

you watch my footsteps. ¹⁰² 

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

Mazmur 143:8

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ¹⁰³ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ¹⁰⁴ 

because I long for you. ¹⁰⁵ 

[5:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ³ 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).

[13:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”

[13:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”

[13:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”

[16:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ⁸ tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ⁹ tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.

[22:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[you] fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.

[22:23]  ¹² tn Heb “fear him.”

[25:4]  ¹³ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[25:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”).

[27:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

[27:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).

[27:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[27:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[27:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles which he expects the psalmist to follow. See Ps 25:4.

[27:11]  ²⁰ sn The level path refers to God’s moral principles (see the parallel line), which, if followed, will keep the psalmist blameless before his accusers (see v. 12).

[27:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.

[32:8]  ²² tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ²³ tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[32:9]  ²⁵ tn The verb form is plural (i.e., “do not all of you be”); the psalmist addresses the whole group.

[32:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “like a horse, like a mule without understanding.”

[32:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “with a bridle and bit, its [?] to hold, not to come near to you.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun עֲדִי (’adiy) is uncertain. Normally the word refers to “jewelry,” so some suggest the meaning “trappings” here (cf. NASB). Some emend the form to לְחֵיהֶם (lÿkhehem, “their jawbones”) but it is difficult to see how the present Hebrew text, even if corrupt, could have derived from this proposed original reading. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 265) takes the form from an Arabic root and translates “whose gallop.” Cf. also NRSV “whose temper must be curbed.”

[37:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[42:9]  ²⁹ tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.

[42:9]  ³⁰ tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.

[42:9]  ³¹ tn Or “forget.”

[42:9]  ³² sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.

[43:2]  ³³ tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.

[43:2]  ³⁴ tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).

[43:2]  ³⁵ tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.

[43:2]  ³⁶ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.

[49:10]  ³⁷ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is understood here as asseverative (emphatic).

[49:10]  ³⁸ tn The subject of the verb is probably the typical “man” mentioned in v. 7. The imperfect can be taken here as generalizing or as indicating potential (“surely he/one can see”).

[49:10]  ³⁹ tn The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to what is characteristically true. The vav (ו) consecutive with perfect in the third line carries the same force.

[49:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “together a fool and a brutish [man] perish.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 73:22; 92:6; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[49:10]  ⁴¹ sn Death shows no respect for anyone. No matter how wise or foolish an individual happens to be, all pass away.

[49:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “but mankind in honor does not remain.” The construction vav (ו) + noun at the beginning of the verse can be taken as contrastive in relation to what precedes. The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some scholars emend יָלִין (yalin, “remains”) to יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 20.

[49:12]  ⁴³ tn Or “cattle.”

[49:12]  ⁴⁴ tn The verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease; destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (“be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [דָּמָה, “be silent,” and דָּמָה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense in v. 20, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

[49:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “mankind in honor does not understand.” The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some emend יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) to יָלִין (yalin, “remains”), but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 12.

[49:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “cattle.”

[49:20]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease, destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [I דָּמַה, “be silent,” and II דָּמַה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense here, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

[62:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[62:6]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:6]  ⁵² tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:6]  ⁵³ sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.

[68:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “in a parched [land].”

[68:6]  sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.

[69:4]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ 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.

[73:10]  ⁶⁰ tc Heb “therefore his people return [so Qere (marginal reading); Kethib (consonantal text) has “he brings back”] to here, and waters of abundance are sucked up by them.” The traditional Hebrew text (MT) defies explanation. The present translation reflects M. Dahood’s proposed emendations (Psalms [AB], 2:190) and reads the Hebrew text as follows: לָכֵן יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם וּמֵי מָלֵא יָמֹצּוּ לָמוֹ (“therefore they are filled with food, and waters of abundance they suck up for themselves”). The reading יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם (yisvÿ’um lekhem, “they are filled with food”) assumes (1) an emendation of יָשׁיּב עַמּוֹ (yashyyv, “he will bring back his people”) to יִשְׂבְעוּם (yisvÿ’um, “they will be filled”; a Qal imperfect third masculine plural form from שָׂבַע [sava’] with enclitic mem [ם]), and (2) an emendation of הֲלֹם (halom, “to here”) to לֶחֶם (“food”). The expression “be filled/fill with food” appears elsewhere at least ten times (see Ps 132:15, for example). In the second line the Niphal form יִמָּצוּ (yimmatsu, derived from מָצָה, matsah, “drain”) is emended to a Qal form יָמֹצּוּ (yamotsu), derived from מָצַץ (matsats, “to suck”). In Isa 66:11 the verbs שָׂבַע (sava’; proposed in Ps 73:10a) and מָצַץ (proposed in Ps 73:10b) are parallel. The point of the emended text is this: Because they are seemingly sovereign (v. 9), they become greedy and grab up everything they need and more.

[73:12]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”

[73:12]  ⁶² tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”

[75:8]  ⁶³ tn Heb “for a cup [is] in the hand of the Lord, and wine foams, it is full of a spiced drink.” The noun מֶסֶךְ (mesekh) refers to a “mixture” of wine and spices.

[75:8]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he pours out from this.”

[75:8]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “surely its dregs they slurp up and drink, all the wicked of the earth.”

[75:8]  sn The psalmist pictures God as forcing the wicked to gulp down an intoxicating drink that will leave them stunned and vulnerable. Divine judgment is also depicted this way in Ps 60:3; Isa 51:17-23; and Hab 2:16.

[76:11]  ⁶⁶ tn The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.

[78:5]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).

[78:5]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the Lord’s mighty deeds (see vv. 3-4).

[82:7]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “men.” The point in the context is mortality, however, not maleness.

[82:7]  sn You will die like mortals. For the concept of a god losing immortality and dying, see Isa 14:12-15, which alludes to a pagan myth in which the petty god “Shining One, son of the Dawn,” is hurled into Sheol for his hubris.

[82:7]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “like one of the rulers.” The comparison does not necessarily imply that they are not rulers. The expression “like one of” can sometimes mean “as one of” (Gen 49:16; Obad 11) or “as any other of” (Judg 16:7, 11).

[86:11]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles he expects the psalmist to follow. See Pss 25:4; 27:11.

[86:11]  ⁷² tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The Lord’s commandments are referred to as “truth” here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. See Ps 25:5.

[86:11]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).

[88:5]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “from your hand.”

[96:4]  ⁷⁶ tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.

[97:7]  ⁷⁷ tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the Lord’s mighty theophany on those who witness it (see vv. 5, 8). Another option is to take the prefixed form in the first line as a jussive (“let all who worship idols be ashamed”) and the ambiguous form in the third line as an imperative (“All you gods, bow down before him!”; cf. NIV).

[111:10]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “the beginning of wisdom [is] the fear of the Lord.”

[111:10]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “good sense [is] to all who do them.” The third masculine plural pronominal suffix must refer back to the “precepts” mentioned in v. 7. In the translation the referent has been specified for clarity. The phrase שֵׂכֶל טוֹב (shekhel tov) also occurs in Prov 3:4; 13:15 and 2 Chr 30:22.

[111:10]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”

[113:3]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “from the rising of the sun to its setting.” The extent is not temporal (“from sunrise to sunset”) but spatial (“from the place where the sun rises [the east] to the place where it sets [the west].” In the phenomenological language of OT cosmology, the sun was described as rising in the east and setting in the west.

[115:1]  ⁸² sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ⁸³ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ⁸⁴ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[118:6]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “for me.”

[118:6]  ⁸⁶ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential. See Ps 56:11.

[119:33]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “the way of your statutes.”

[119:33]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and I will keep it to the end.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative. The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (’eqev) is understood to mean “end” here. Another option is to take עֵקֶב (’eqev) as meaning “reward” here (see Ps 19:11) and to translate, “so that I might observe it and be rewarded.”

[119:84]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “How long are the days of your servant?”

[120:5]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “woe to me.” The Hebrew term אוֹיָה (’oyah, “woe”) which occurs only here, is an alternate form of אוֹי (’oy).

[120:5]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “I live as a resident alien.”

[120:5]  ⁹² sn Meshech was located in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). Kedar was located in the desert to east-southeast of Israel. Because of the reference to Kedar, it is possible that Ps 120:5 refers to a different Meshech, perhaps one associated with the individual mentioned as a descendant of Aram in 1 Chr 1:17. (However, the LXX in 1 Chr 1:17 follows the parallel text in Gen 10:23, which reads “Mash,” not Meshech.) It is, of course, impossible that the psalmist could have been living in both the far north and the east at the same time. For this reason one must assume that he is recalling his experience as a wanderer among the nations or that he is using the geographical terms metaphorically and sarcastically to suggest that the enemies who surround him are like the barbarians who live in these distant regions. For a discussion of the problem, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 146.

[121:1]  ⁹³ sn Psalm 121. The psalm affirms that the Lord protects his people Israel. Unless the psalmist addresses an observer (note the second person singular forms in vv. 3-8), it appears there are two or three speakers represented in the psalm, depending on how one takes v. 3. The translation assumes that speaker one talks in vv. 1-2, that speaker two responds to him with a prayer in v. 3 (this assumes the verbs are true jussives of prayer), and that speaker three responds with words of assurance in vv. 4-8. If the verbs in v. 3 are taken as a rhetorical use of the jussive, then there are two speakers. Verses 3-8 are speaker two’s response to the words of speaker one. See the note on the word “sleep” at the end of v. 3.

[121:1]  ⁹⁴ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[121:1]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[121:1]  ⁹⁶ tn The Hebrew term מֵאַיִן (me’ayin) is interrogative, not relative, in function. Rather than directly stating that his source of help descends from the hills, the psalmist is asking, “From where does my help come?” Nevertheless, the first line does indicate that he is looking toward the hills for help, probably indicating that he is looking up toward the sky in anticipation of supernatural intervention. The psalmist assumes the dramatic role of one needing help. He answers his own question in v. 2.

[132:2]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”

[139:3]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).

[139:3]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “all my ways.”

[139:21]  ¹⁰⁰ tc Heb “who raise themselves up against you.” The form וּבִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvitqomÿmekha) should be emended to וּבְמִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvÿmitqomÿmekha), a Hitpolel participle (the prefixed mem [מ] of the participle is accidentally omitted in the MT, though a few medieval Hebrew mss have it).

[142:3]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[142:3]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “you know my path.”

[143:8]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).

[143:8]  ¹⁰⁴ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).