Mazmur 106:8

106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, ¹ 

that he might reveal his power.

Mazmur 130:4

130:4 But ²  you are willing to forgive, ³ 

so that you might ⁴  be honored. ⁵ 

Mazmur 6:4

6:4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! ⁶ 

Deliver me because of your faithfulness! ⁷ 

Mazmur 23:3

23:3 He restores my strength. ⁸ 

He leads me down ⁹  the right paths ¹⁰ 

for the sake of his reputation. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 25:11

25:11 For the sake of your reputation, ¹²  O Lord,

forgive my sin, because it is great. ¹³ 

Mazmur 27:11

27:11 Teach me how you want me to live; ¹⁴ 

lead me along a level path ¹⁵  because of those who wait to ambush me! ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 44:26

44:26 Rise up and help us!

Rescue us ¹⁷  because of your loyal love!

Mazmur 60:5

60:5 Deliver by your power ¹⁸  and answer me, ¹⁹ 

so that the ones you love may be safe. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 69:18

69:18 Come near me and redeem me! ²¹ 

Because of my enemies, rescue me!

Mazmur 108:6

108:6 Deliver by your power ²²  and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe. ²³ 

Mazmur 119:11

119:11 In my heart I store up ²⁴  your words, ²⁵ 

so I might not sin against you.

Mazmur 119:71

119:71 It was good for me to suffer,

so that I might learn your statutes.

Mazmur 119:80

119:80 May I be fully committed to your statutes, ²⁶ 

so that I might not be ashamed.

Mazmur 119:101

119:101 I stay away ²⁷  from the evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions. ²⁸ 

Mazmur 122:8-9

122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors

I will say, “May there be peace in you!”

122:9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God

I will pray for you to prosper. ²⁹ 

Mazmur 143:11

143:11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, ³⁰  revive me! ³¹ 

Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble! ³² 

Mazmur 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ³³ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ³⁴ 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ³⁵ 

Mazmur 8:2

8:2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies

you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, ³⁶ 

so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy. ³⁷ 

Mazmur 9:14

9:14 Then I will ³⁸  tell about all your praiseworthy acts; ³⁹ 

in the gates of Daughter Zion ⁴⁰  I will rejoice because of your deliverance.” ⁴¹ 

Mazmur 25:7

25:7 Do not hold against me ⁴²  the sins of my youth ⁴³  or my rebellious acts!

Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord! ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 30:12

30:12 So now ⁴⁵  my heart ⁴⁶  will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always ⁴⁷  give thanks to you.

Mazmur 31:3

31:3 For you are my high ridge ⁴⁸  and my stronghold;

for the sake of your own reputation ⁴⁹  you lead me and guide me. ⁵⁰ 

Mazmur 48:11

48:11 Mount Zion rejoices;

the towns ⁵¹  of Judah are happy, ⁵² 

because of your acts of judgment. ⁵³ 

Mazmur 48:13

48:13 Consider its defenses! ⁵⁴ 

Walk through ⁵⁵  its fortresses,

so you can tell the next generation about it! ⁵⁶ 

Mazmur 51:4

51:4 Against you – you above all ⁵⁷  – I have sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So ⁵⁸  you are just when you confront me; ⁵⁹ 

you are right when you condemn me. ⁶⁰ 

Mazmur 68:23

68:23 so that your feet may stomp ⁶¹  in their blood,

and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.” ⁶² 

Mazmur 78:6

78:6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,

might know about them.

They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. ⁶³ 

Mazmur 97:8

97:8 Zion hears and rejoices,

the towns ⁶⁴  of Judah are happy,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

Mazmur 109:21

109:21 O sovereign Lord,

intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! ⁶⁵ 

Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!

Mazmur 79:9

79:9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!

For the sake of your glorious reputation, ⁶⁶  rescue us!

Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation! ⁶⁷ 

Mazmur 125:3

125:3 Indeed, ⁶⁸  the scepter of a wicked king ⁶⁹  will not settle ⁷⁰ 

upon the allotted land of the godly.

Otherwise the godly might

do what is wrong. ⁷¹ 

[106:8]  ¹ tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[130:4]  ² tn Or “surely.”

[130:4]  ³ tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”

[130:4]  ⁴ tn Or “consequently you are.”

[130:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “feared.”

[6:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “my being,” or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:4]  ⁷ sn Deliver me because of your faithfulness. Though the psalmist is experiencing divine discipline, he realizes that God has made a commitment to him in the past, so he appeals to God’s faithfulness in his request for help.

[23:3]  ⁸ tn The appearance of the Hebrew term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), traditionally translated “my soul,” might suggest a spiritualized interpretation for the first line of v. 3. However, at the surface level of the shepherd/sheep metaphor, this is unlikely. When it occurs with a pronominal suffix נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. 4 נֶפֶשׁ.a). In this context, where the statement most naturally refers to the physical provision just described, the form is best translated simply “me.” The accompanying verb (a Polel form [factitive use] of שׁוּב [shuv]), if referring to the physical provision just described, carries the nuance “refresh, restore strength.”

[23:3]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 (יְשׁוֹבֵב [yÿshovev] and יַנְחֵנִי [yakheniy]), like those in vv. 1-2, highlight what is typical of the shepherd/sheep relationship.

[23:3]  ¹⁰ tn The attributive genitive צֶדֶק (tsedeq) is traditionally translated “righteousness” here, as if designating a moral or ethical quality. But this seems unlikely, for it modifies מַעְגְּלֵי (ma’ggÿley, “paths”). Within the shepherd/sheep metaphor, the phrase likely refers to “right” or “correct” paths, i.e. ones that lead to pastures, wells, or the fold. While צֶדֶק usually does carry a moral or ethical nuance, it can occasionally refer to less abstract things, such as weights and offerings. In this context, which emphasizes divine provision and protection, the underlying reality is probably God’s providential guidance. The psalmist is confident that God takes him down paths that will ultimately lead to something beneficial, not destructive.

[23:3]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term שֶׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the shepherd’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.) The statement לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (lÿma’an shÿmo, “for the sake of his name”) makes excellent sense within the framework of the shepherd/sheep metaphor. Shepherds, who sometimes hired out their services, were undoubtedly concerned about their vocational reputation. To maintain their reputation as competent shepherds, they had to know the “lay of the land” and make sure they led the sheep down the right paths to the proper destinations. The underlying reality is a profound theological truth: God must look out for the best interests of the one he has promised to protect, because if he fails to do so, his faithfulness could legitimately be called into question and his reputation damaged.

[25:11]  ¹² tn Heb “name.” By forgiving the sinful psalmist, the Lord’s reputation as a merciful God will be enhanced.

[25:11]  ¹³ sn Forgive my sin, because it is great. The psalmist readily admits his desperate need for forgiveness.

[27:11]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.

[44:26]  ¹⁷ tn Or “redeem us.” See Pss 25:22; 26:11; 69:18; 119:134.

[60:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “right hand.”

[60:5]  ¹⁹ tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”

[60:5]  ²⁰ 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.”

[69:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

[108:6]  ²² tn Heb “right hand.”

[108:6]  ²³ 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.”

[119:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “hide.”

[119:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “your word.” Some medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”

[119:80]  ²⁶ tn Heb “may my heart be complete in your statutes.”

[119:101]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”

[119:101]  ²⁸ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural.

[122:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.

[143:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[143:11]  ³¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:11]  ³² tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”

[5:8]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ³⁵ 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).

[8:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “you establish strength because of your foes.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation follows the reading of the LXX which has “praise” (αἶνος, ainos) in place of “strength” (עֹז, ’oz); cf. NIV, NCV, NLT.

[8:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to cause to cease an enemy and an avenger.” The singular forms are collective. The Hitpael participle of נָקַם (naqam) also occurs in Ps 44:16.

[9:14]  ³⁸ tn Or “so that I might.”

[9:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “all your praise.” “Praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt it.

[9:14]  ⁴⁰ sn Daughter Zion is an idiomatic title for Jerusalem. It appears frequently in the prophets, but only here in the psalms.

[9:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “in your deliverance.”

[25:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “do not remember,” with the intention of punishing.

[25:7]  ⁴³ sn That is, the sins characteristic of youths, who lack moral discretion and wisdom.

[25:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “according to your faithfulness, remember me, you, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”

[30:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”

[30:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.

[30:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “forever.”

[31:3]  ⁴⁸ sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[31:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the Lord’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.)

[31:3]  ⁵⁰ tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[48:11]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[48:11]  ⁵² tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [lÿma’an], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)

[48:11]  ⁵³ sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.

[48:13]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “set your heart to its rampart.”

[48:13]  ⁵⁵ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word translated “walk through,” which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Cf. NEB “pass…in review”; NIV “view.”

[48:13]  ⁵⁶ sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.

[51:4]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”

[51:4]  ⁵⁸ tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.

[51:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).

[51:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “when you judge.”

[68:23]  ⁶¹ tc Some (e.g. NRSV) prefer to emend מָחַץ (makhats, “smash; stomp”; see v. 21) to רָחַץ (rakhats, “bathe”; see Ps 58:10).

[68:23]  ⁶² tn Heb “[and] the tongue of your dogs from [the] enemies [may eat] its portion.”

[78:6]  ⁶³ tn Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”

[97:8]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[109:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “but you, Lord, Master, do with me for the sake of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[79:9]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the glory of your name.” Here and in the following line “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[79:9]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “your name.”

[125:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “for.”

[125:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “a scepter of wickedness.” The “scepter” symbolizes royal authority; when collocated with “wickedness” the phrase refers to an oppressive foreign conqueror.

[125:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “rest.”

[125:3]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “so that the godly might not stretch out their hands in wrongdoing.” A wicked king who sets a sinful example can have an adverse moral and ethical effect on the people he rules.