Mazmur 138:8

138:8 The Lord avenges me. ¹ 

O Lord, your loyal love endures.

Do not abandon those whom you have made! ² 

Mazmur 143:5

143:5 I recall the old days; ³ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ⁴ 

Mazmur 144:7

144:7 Reach down ⁵  from above!

Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, ⁶ 

from the power of foreigners, ⁷ 

[138:8]  ¹ tn Heb “avenges on my behalf.” For the meaning “to avenge” for the verb גָּמַר (gamar), see HALOT 197-98 s.v. גמר.

[138:8]  ² tn Heb “the works of your hands.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular, “work of your hands.”

[143:5]  ³ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

[144:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”

[144:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).

[144:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”