Mazmur 17:2

17:2 Make a just decision on my behalf! ¹ 

Decide what is right! ² 

Mazmur 37:27

37:27 Turn away from evil! Do what is right! ³ 

Then you will enjoy lasting security. ⁴ 

Mazmur 37:39

37:39 But the Lord delivers the godly; ⁵ 

he protects them in times of trouble. ⁶ 

Mazmur 45:6

45:6 Your throne, ⁷  O God, is permanent. ⁸ 

The scepter ⁹  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

Mazmur 73:12

73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, ¹⁰ 

those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 83:17

83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! ¹² 

May they die in shame! ¹³ 

Mazmur 93:5

93:5 The rules you set down ¹⁴  are completely reliable. ¹⁵ 

Holiness ¹⁶  aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever. ¹⁷ 

[17:2]  ¹ tn Heb “From before you may my justice come out.” The prefixed verbal form יָצָא (yatsa’) could be taken as an imperfect, but following the imperatives in v. 1, it is better understood as a jussive of prayer.

[17:2]  ² tn Heb “May your eyes look at what is right.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as jussive. (See also the preceding note on the word “behalf.”)

[37:27]  ³ tn Or “Do good!” The imperatives are singular (see v. 1).

[37:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “and dwell permanently.” The imperative with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause after the preceding imperatives.

[37:39]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the deliverance of the godly [ones] [is] from the Lord.”

[37:39]  ⁶ tn Heb “[he is] their place of refuge in a time of trouble.”

[45:6]  ⁷ sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6]  ⁸ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6]  sn O God. The king is clearly the addressee here, as in vv. 2-5 and 7-9. Rather than taking the statement at face value, many prefer to emend the text because the concept of deifying the earthly king is foreign to ancient Israelite thinking (cf. NEB “your throne is like God’s throne, eternal”). However, it is preferable to retain the text and take this statement as another instance of the royal hyperbole that permeates the royal psalms. Because the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth, the psalmist addresses him as if he were God incarnate. God energizes the king for battle and accomplishes justice through him. A similar use of hyperbole appears in Isa 9:6, where the ideal Davidic king of the eschaton is given the title “Mighty God” (see the note on this phrase there). Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (see Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). Ps 45:6 and Isa 9:6 probably envision a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.

[45:6]  ⁹ sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[73:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”

[73:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”

[83:17]  ¹² tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.

[83:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.

[93:5]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally “your testimonies.” The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law. See Ps 19:7.

[93:5]  ¹⁵ sn The rules you set down. God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.

[93:5]  ¹⁶ sn Holiness refers here to God’s royal transcendence (see vv. 1-4), as well as his moral authority and perfection (see v. 5a).

[93:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for your house holiness is fitting, O Lord, for length of days.”