Mazmur 11:2

11:2 For look, the wicked ¹  prepare ²  their bows, ³ 

they put their arrows on the strings,

to shoot in the darkness ⁴  at the morally upright. ⁵ 

Mazmur 19:5

19:5 Like a bridegroom it emerges ⁶  from its chamber; ⁷ 

like a strong man it enjoys ⁸  running its course. ⁹ 

Mazmur 30:6

30:6 In my self-confidence I said,

“I will never be upended.” ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 49:13

49:13 This is the destiny of fools, ¹¹ 

and of those who approve of their philosophy. ¹²  (Selah)

Mazmur 56:9

56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; ¹³ 

I know that God is on my side. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ¹⁵ 

for they say, ¹⁶ 

“Who hears?”

Mazmur 62:1-2

Psalm 62 ¹⁷ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

62:1 For God alone I patiently wait; ¹⁸ 

he is the one who delivers me. ¹⁹ 

62:2 He alone is my protector ²⁰  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ²¹  I will not be upended. ²² 

Mazmur 63:2

63:2 Yes, ²³  in the sanctuary I have seen you, ²⁴ 

and witnessed ²⁵  your power and splendor.

Mazmur 116:16

116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;

I am your lowest slave. ²⁶ 

You saved me from death. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 134:1

Psalm 134 ²⁸ 

A song of ascents. ²⁹ 

134:1 Attention! ³⁰  Praise the Lord,

all you servants of the Lord,

who serve ³¹  in the Lord’s temple during the night.

Mazmur 136:11

136:11 and led Israel out from their midst,

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 136:15-16

136:15 and tossed ³²  Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

for his loyal love endures,

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

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 139:8

139:8 If I were to ascend ³³  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 140:13

140:13 Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;

the morally upright will live in your presence.

[11:2]  ¹ tn In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and threaten his people (Ps 3:8).

[11:2]  ² tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form depicts the enemies’ hostile action as underway.

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “a bow.”

[11:2]  ⁴ sn In the darkness. The enemies’ attack, the precise form of which is not indicated, is compared here to a night ambush by archers; the psalmist is defenseless against this deadly attack.

[11:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[19:5]  ⁶ tn The participle expresses the repeated or regular nature of the action.

[19:5]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew noun חֻפָּה (khufah, “chamber”) occurs elsewhere only in Isa 4:5 and Joel 2:16 (where it refers to the bedroom of a bride and groom).

[19:5]  sn Like a bridegroom. The metaphor likens the sun to a bridegroom who rejoices on his wedding night.

[19:5]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the regularity of the action.

[19:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “[on] a path.”

[19:5]  sn Like a strong man. The metaphorical language reflects the brilliance of the sunrise, which attests to the sun’s vigor.

[30:6]  ¹⁰ sn In my self-confidence I said… Here the psalmist begins to fill in the background of the crisis referred to in the earlier verses. He had been arrogant and self-confident, so the Lord withdrew his protection and allowed trouble to invade his life (vv. 8-11).

[49:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “this [is] their way, [there is] folly [belonging] to them.” The Hebrew term translated “this” could refer (1) back to the preceding verse[s] or (2) ahead to the subsequent statements. The translation assumes the latter, since v. 12 appears to be a refrain that concludes the psalm’s first major section and marks a structural boundary. (A similar refrain [see v. 20] concludes the second half of the psalm.) The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) often refers to one’s lifestyle, but, if it relates to what follows, then here it likely refers metonymically to one’s destiny (the natural outcome of one’s lifestyle [cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “fate”]). (See the discussion in K. Koch, TDOT 3:285.) If one prefers the more common nuance (“lifestyle”), then the term would look back to the self-confident attitude described in the earlier verses.

[49:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and after them, in their mouth they take delight.” The meaning of the MT is not entirely clear. “After them” is understood here as substantival, “those who come after them” or “those who follow them.” “Their mouth” is taken as a metonymy for the arrogant attitude verbalized by the rich. In the expression “take delight in,” the preposition -ב (bet) introduces the object/cause of one’s delight (see Pss 147:10; 149:4). So the idea here is that those who come after/follow the rich find the philosophy of life they verbalize and promote to be attractive and desirable.

[56:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.

[56:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”

[59:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ¹⁶ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[62:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.

[62:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”

[62:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”

[62:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ²¹ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ²² 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.”

[63:2]  ²³ tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

[63:2]  ²⁴ tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

[63:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[116:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

[116:16]  ²⁷ tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).

[134:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 134. The psalmist calls on the temple servants to praise God (vv. 1-2). They in turn pronounce a blessing on the psalmist (v. 3).

[134:1]  ²⁹ 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.

[134:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Look!”

[134:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “stand.”

[136:15]  ³² tn Or “shook off.”

[139:8]  ³³ tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).

[139:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “look, you.”