Mazmur 12:7

12:7 You, Lord, will protect them; ¹ 

you will continually shelter each one from these evil people, ² 

Mazmur 25:3

25:3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.

Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted ³  and humiliated.

Mazmur 35:17

35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? ⁴ 

Rescue ⁵  me ⁶  from their destructive attacks;

guard my life ⁷  from the young lions!

Mazmur 38:19

38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; ⁸ 

those who hate me without cause outnumber me. ⁹ 

Mazmur 41:10

41:10 As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up,

so I can pay them back!” ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 69:35

69:35 For God will deliver Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

and his people ¹¹  will again live in them and possess Zion. ¹² 

Mazmur 79:11

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ¹³ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 81:16

81:16 “I would feed Israel the best wheat, ¹⁵ 

and would satisfy your appetite ¹⁶  with honey from the rocky cliffs.” ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 102:28

102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,

and their descendants ¹⁸  will live securely in your presence.” ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 145:7

145:7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness, ²⁰ 

and sing about your justice. ²¹ 

Mazmur 148:13

148:13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty extends over the earth and sky.

[12:7]  ¹ tn The third person plural pronominal suffix on the verb is masculine, referring back to the “oppressed” and “needy” in v. 5 (both of those nouns are plural in form), suggesting that the verb means “protect” here. The suffix does not refer to אִמֲרוֹת (’imarot, “words”) in v. 6, because that term is feminine gender.

[12:7]  ² tn Heb “you will protect him from this generation permanently.” The third masculine singular suffix on the verb “protect” is probably used in a distributive sense, referring to each one within the group mentioned previously (the oppressed/needy, referred to as “them” in the preceding line). On this grammatical point see GKC 396 §123.f (where the present text is not cited). (Some Hebrew mss and ancient textual witnesses read “us,” both here and in the preceding line.) The noun דוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the psalmist’s contemporaries, who were characterized by deceit and arrogance (see vv. 1-2). See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[25:3]  ³ tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).

[35:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “O Lord, how long will you see?”

[35:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “bring back, restore.”

[35:17]  ⁶ tn Or “my life.”

[35:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone (see Ps 22:20). The verb “guard” is supplied in the translation, because the verb “rescue” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[38:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).

[38:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “are many.”

[41:10]  ¹⁰ tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) here indicates purpose or result (“Then I will repay them”) after the preceding imperatives.

[69:35]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[69:35]  ¹² tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[79:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[81:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he fed him from the best of the wheat.” The Hebrew text has a third person form of the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive attached. However, it is preferable, in light of the use of the first person in v. 14 and in the next line, to emend the verb to a first person form and understand the vav as conjunctive, continuing the apodosis of the conditional sentence of vv. 13-14. The third masculine singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in v. 6.

[81:16]  sn I would feed. After the parenthetical “curse” in v. 15, the Lord’s speech continues here.

[81:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you.” The second person singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in vv. 7-10.

[81:16]  ¹⁷ sn The language in this verse, particularly the references to wheat and honey, is reminiscent of Deut 32:13-14.

[102:28]  ¹⁸ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[102:28]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “before you will be established.”

[145:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the fame of the greatness of your goodness.”

[145:7]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 7 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they talk…and sing.”