Mazmur 17:7

17:7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds, ¹ 

you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies. ² 

Mazmur 30:9

30:9 “What ³  profit is there in taking my life, ⁴ 

in my descending into the Pit? ⁵ 

Can the dust of the grave ⁶  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ⁷ 

Mazmur 31:19

31:19 How great is your favor, ⁸ 

which you store up for your loyal followers! ⁹ 

In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter ¹⁰  in you. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 32:5

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, “I will confess ¹²  my rebellious acts to the Lord.”

And then you forgave my sins. ¹³  (Selah)

Mazmur 52:9

52:9 I will continually ¹⁴  thank you when ¹⁵  you execute judgment; ¹⁶ 

I will rely ¹⁷  on you, ¹⁸  for your loyal followers know you are good. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 89:49

89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, ²⁰  O Lord, ²¹ 

the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? ²² 

[17:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Set apart faithful acts.”

[17:7]  ² tn Heb “[O] one who delivers those who seek shelter from the ones raising themselves up, by your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver.

[17:7]  sn Those who look to you for protection from their enemies. “Seeking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[30:9]  ³ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ⁷ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[30:9]  sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!

[31:19]  ⁸ tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”

[31:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “for those who fear you.”

[31:19]  ¹⁰ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 34:21-22).

[31:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”

[32:5]  ¹² tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”

[32:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.

[52:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

[52:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

[89:49]  ²⁰ sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.

[89:49]  ²¹ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:49]  ²² tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”