Mazmur 109:8

109:8 May his days be few! ¹ 

May another take his job! ² 

Mazmur 119:1

Psalm 119 ³ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ⁴ 

who obey ⁵  the law of the Lord.

Mazmur 144:4

144:4 People ⁶  are like a vapor,

their days like a shadow that disappears. ⁷ 

Mazmur 150:6

150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

[109:8]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19.

[109:8]  ² tn The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.

[119:1]  ³ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “walk in.”

[144:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “man,” or “mankind.”

[144:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “his days [are] like a shadow that passes away,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.