Mazmur 17:4

17:4 As for the actions of people ¹  –

just as you have commanded,

I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men. ² 

Mazmur 25:10

25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable ³ 

to those who follow the demands of his covenant. ⁴ 

Mazmur 31:5

31:5 Into your hand I entrust my life; ⁵ 

you will rescue ⁶  me, O Lord, the faithful God.

Mazmur 38:20

38:20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;

though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me. ⁷ 

Mazmur 66:7

66:7 He rules ⁸  by his power forever;

he watches ⁹  the nations.

Stubborn rebels should not exalt ¹⁰  themselves. (Selah)

Mazmur 78:7

78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.

They will not forget the works of God,

and they will obey ¹¹  his commands.

Mazmur 78:56

78:56 Yet they challenged and defied ¹²  the sovereign God, ¹³ 

and did not obey ¹⁴  his commands. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 99:7

99:7 He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud; ¹⁶ 

they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.

Mazmur 119:69

119:69 Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies, ¹⁷ 

but I observe your precepts with all my heart.

Mazmur 119:145

ק (Qof)

119:145 I cried out with all my heart, “Answer me, O Lord!

I will observe your statutes.”

[17:4]  ¹ tn Heb “with regard to the deeds of man[kind].”

[17:4]  ² tn Heb “by the word of your lips, I, I have watched the paths of the violent” (i.e., “watched” in the sense of “watched for the purpose of avoiding”).

[25:10]  ³ tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.

[25:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

[31:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “my spirit.” The noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) here refers to the animating spirit that gives the psalmist life.

[31:5]  ⁶ tn Or “redeem.” The perfect verbal form is understood here as anticipatory, indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer that he can describe his deliverance as if it had already happened. Another option is to take the perfect as precative, expressing a wish or request (“rescue me”; cf. NIV). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[38:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”

[66:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”

[66:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.

[66:7]  ¹⁰ tn The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition -לְ (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.

[78:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “keep.”

[78:56]  ¹² tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”

[78:56]  ¹³ tn Heb “God, the Most High.”

[78:56]  ¹⁴ tn Or “keep.”

[78:56]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).

[99:7]  ¹⁶ sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.

[119:69]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “smear over me a lie.”