Mazmur 6:5

6:5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death, ¹ 

In Sheol who gives you thanks? ² 

Mazmur 7:2

7:2 Otherwise they will rip ³  me ⁴  to shreds like a lion;

they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. ⁵ 

Mazmur 7:7

7:7 The countries are assembled all around you; ⁶ 

take once more your rightful place over them! ⁷ 

Mazmur 10:17

10:17 Lord, you have heard ⁸  the request ⁹  of the oppressed;

you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 18:16

18:16 He reached down ¹¹  from above and took hold of me;

he pulled me from the surging water. ¹² 

Mazmur 18:24

18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; ¹³ 

he took notice of my blameless behavior. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 18:42

18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; ¹⁵ 

I beat them underfoot ¹⁶  like clay ¹⁷  in the streets.

Mazmur 22:8

22:8 They say, ¹⁸ 

“Commit yourself ¹⁹  to the Lord!

Let the Lord ²⁰  rescue him!

Let the Lord ²¹  deliver him, for he delights in him.” ²² 

Mazmur 22:14

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ²³ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ²⁴  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

Mazmur 25:5

25:5 Guide me into your truth ²⁵  and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

Mazmur 28:2

28:2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,

when I lift my hands ²⁶  toward your holy temple! ²⁷ 

Mazmur 31:15

31:15 You determine my destiny! ²⁸ 

Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.

Mazmur 36:12

36:12 I can see the evildoers! They have fallen! ²⁹ 

They have been knocked down and are unable to get up! ³⁰ 

Mazmur 38:3

38:3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment; ³¹ 

I am deprived of health because of my sin. ³² 

Mazmur 49:1

Psalm 49 ³³ 

For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.

49:1 Listen to this, all you nations!

Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world! ³⁴ 

Mazmur 50:10

50:10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,

as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ³⁶ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ³⁷ 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ³⁸ 

Mazmur 58:10

58:10 The godly ³⁹  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Mazmur 60:10

60:10 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

Mazmur 63:5

63:5 As if with choice meat ⁴⁰  you satisfy my soul. ⁴¹ 

My mouth joyfully praises you, ⁴² 

Mazmur 68:26

68:26 In your large assemblies praise God,

the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel! ⁴³ 

Mazmur 69:9

69:9 Certainly ⁴⁴  zeal for ⁴⁵  your house ⁴⁶  consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you. ⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 78:71

78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, ⁴⁸ 

and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,

and of Israel, his chosen nation. ⁴⁹ 

Mazmur 88:16

88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; ⁵⁰ 

your terrors destroy me.

Mazmur 89:18

89:18 For our shield ⁵¹  belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel. ⁵² 

Mazmur 89:20

89:20 I have discovered David, my servant.

With my holy oil I have anointed him as king. ⁵³ 

Mazmur 89:34

89:34 I will not break ⁵⁴  my covenant

or go back on what I promised. ⁵⁵ 

Mazmur 92:9

92:9 Indeed, ⁵⁶  look at your enemies, O Lord!

Indeed, ⁵⁷  look at how your enemies perish!

All the evildoers are scattered!

Mazmur 92:13

92:13 Planted in the Lord’s house,

they grow in the courts of our God.

Mazmur 102:13

102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. ⁵⁸ 

For it is time to have mercy on her,

for the appointed time has come.

Mazmur 106:45

106:45 He remembered his covenant with them,

and relented ⁵⁹  because of his great loyal love.

Mazmur 108:6

108:6 Deliver by your power ⁶⁰  and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe. ⁶¹ 

Mazmur 108:11

108:11 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

Mazmur 108:13

108:13 By God’s power we will conquer; ⁶² 

he will trample down ⁶³  our enemies.

Mazmur 119:104

119:104 Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions. ⁶⁴ 

Mazmur 136:16

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 139:15

139:15 my bones were not hidden from you,

when ⁶⁵  I was made in secret

and sewed together in the depths of the earth. ⁶⁶ 

Mazmur 140:1

Psalm 140 ⁶⁷ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! ⁶⁸ 

Protect me from violent men, ⁶⁹ 

Mazmur 150:1

Psalm 150 ⁷⁰ 

150:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary!

Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength! ⁷¹ 

[6:5]  ¹ tn Heb “for there is not in death your remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זֵכֶר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 30:4; 97:12. “Death” here refers to the realm of death where the dead reside. See the reference to Sheol in the next line.

[6:5]  ² tn The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[6:5]  sn In Sheol who gives you thanks? According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 30:9; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!

[7:2]  ³ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew text, even though “all who chase me” in v. 1 refers to a whole group of enemies. The singular is also used in vv. 4-5, but the psalmist returns to the plural in v. 6. The singular is probably collective, emphasizing the united front that the psalmist’s enemies present. This same alternation between a collective singular and a plural referring to enemies appears in Pss 9:3, 6; 13:4; 31:4, 8; 41:6, 10-11; 42:9-10; 55:3; 64:1-2; 74:3-4; 89:22-23; 106:10-11; 143:3, 6, 9.

[7:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “tearing and there is no one rescuing.” The verbal form translated “tearing” is a singular active participle.

[7:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the assembly of the peoples surrounds you.” Some understand the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may the assembly of the peoples surround you.”

[7:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “over it (the feminine suffix refers back to the feminine noun “assembly” in the preceding line) on high return.” Some emend שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return”) to שֵׁבָה (shevah, “sit [in judgment]”) because they find the implication of “return” problematic. But the psalmist does not mean to imply that God has abandoned his royal throne and needs to regain it. Rather he simply urges God, as sovereign king of the world, to once more occupy his royal seat of judgment and execute judgment, as the OT pictures God doing periodically.

[10:17]  ⁸ sn You have heard. The psalmist is confident that God has responded positively to his earlier petitions for divine intervention. The psalmist apparently prayed the words of vv. 16-18 after the reception of an oracle of deliverance (given in response to the confident petition of vv. 12-15) or after the Lord actually delivered him from his enemies.

[10:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “desire.”

[10:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you make firm their heart, you cause your ear to listen.”

[18:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.

[18:16]  ¹² tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).

[18:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”

[18:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.

[18:42]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”

[18:42]  ¹⁶ tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.

[18:42]  ¹⁷ tn Or “mud.”

[22:8]  ¹⁸ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.

[22:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the Lord.”

[22:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ²² tn That is, “for he [the Lord] delights in him [the psalmist].” For other cases where the expression “delight in” refers to God’s delight in a person, see Num 14:8; 1 Kgs 10:9; Pss 18:19; 40:8.

[22:8]  sn This statement does not necessarily reflect the enemies’ actual belief, but it does reflect the psalmist’s confession. The psalmist’s enemies sarcastically appeal to God to help him, because he claims to be an object of divine favor. However, they probably doubted the reality of his claim.

[22:14]  ²³ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ²⁴ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[25:5]  ²⁵ sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.

[28:2]  ²⁶ sn I lift my hands. Lifting one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer.

[28:2]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew term דְּבִיר (dÿvir, “temple”) actually refers to the most holy place within the sanctuary.

[31:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”

[36:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “there the workers of wickedness have fallen.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the evildoers lying fallen at a spot that is vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[36:12]  ³⁰ tn The psalmist uses perfect verbal forms in v. 12 to describe the demise of the wicked as if it has already taken place.

[38:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.

[38:3]  ³² tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”

[49:1]  ³³ sn Psalm 49. In this so-called wisdom psalm (see v. 3) the psalmist states that he will not fear the rich enemies who threaten him, for despite their wealth, they are mere men who will die like everyone else. The psalmist is confident the Lord will vindicate the godly and protect them from the attacks of their oppressors.

[49:1]  ³⁴ tn The rare noun חָלֶד (kheled, “world”) occurs in Ps 17:14 and perhaps also in Isa 38:11 (see the note on “world” there).

[50:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term בְּהֵמוֹה (bÿhemot, “animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).

[55:21]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ³⁸ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[58:10]  ³⁹ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[63:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”

[63:5]  ⁴¹ tn Or “me.”

[63:5]  ⁴² tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”

[68:26]  ⁴³ tn Heb “from the fountain of Israel,” which makes little, if any, sense here. The translation assumes an emendation to בְּמִקְרָאֵי (bÿmiqra’ey, “in the assemblies of [Israel]”).

[69:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.

[69:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “devotion to.”

[69:9]  ⁴⁶ sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.

[69:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”

[69:9]  sn Jn 2:17 applies the first half of this verse to Jesus’ ministry in the context of John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple.

[78:71]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

[78:71]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

[88:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “passes over me.”

[89:18]  ⁵¹ tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “our king" here and with “your anointed one” in Ps 84:9.

[89:18]  ⁵² sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

[89:20]  ⁵³ tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.

[89:34]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:34]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”

[92:9]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “for.”

[92:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “for.”

[102:13]  ⁵⁸ tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”

[106:45]  ⁵⁹ tn The Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) refers here to God relenting from a punishment already underway.

[108:6]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “right hand.”

[108:6]  ⁶¹ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[108:13]  ⁶² tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 118:16-16).

[108:13]  ⁶³ sn On the expression trample down our enemies see Ps 44:5.

[119:104]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “every false path.”

[139:15]  ⁶⁵ tc The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) should probably be emended to כֲּאַשֶׁר (ka’asher, “when”). The kaf (כ) may have been lost by haplography (note the kaf at the end of the preceding form).

[139:15]  ⁶⁶ sn The phrase depths of the earth may be metaphorical (euphemistic) or it may reflect a prescientific belief about the origins of the embryo deep beneath the earth’s surface (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 96-97). Job 1:21 also closely associates the mother’s womb with the earth.

[140:1]  ⁶⁷ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

[140:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[150:1]  ⁷⁰ sn Psalm 150. The Psalter concludes with a resounding call for praise from everything that has breath.

[150:1]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “the sky of his strength.”