Mazmur 2:2

2:2 The kings of the earth ¹  form a united front; ² 

the rulers collaborate ³ 

against the Lord and his anointed king. ⁴ 

Mazmur 18:10

18:10 He mounted ⁵  a winged angel ⁶  and flew;

he glided ⁷  on the wings of the wind. ⁸ 

Mazmur 29:3

29:3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; ⁹ 

the majestic God thunders, ¹⁰ 

the Lord appears over the surging water. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 41:7

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; ¹² 

they plan ways to harm me.

Mazmur 47:8

47:8 God reigns ¹³  over the nations!

God sits on his holy throne!

Mazmur 57:5

57:5 Rise up ¹⁴  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 57:11

57:11 Rise up ¹⁶  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 60:8

60:8 Moab is my washbasin. ¹⁸ 

I will make Edom serve me. ¹⁹ 

I will shout in triumph over Philistia.” ²⁰ 

Mazmur 80:17

80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, ²¹ 

to the one whom you raised up for yourself! ²² 

Mazmur 90:17

90:17 May our sovereign God extend his favor to us! ²³ 

Make our endeavors successful!

Yes, make them successful! ²⁴ 

Mazmur 97:9

97:9 For you, O Lord, are the sovereign king ²⁵  over the whole earth;

you are elevated high above all gods.

Mazmur 103:11

103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,

so his loyal love towers ²⁶  over his faithful followers. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 108:5

108:5 Rise up ²⁸  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ²⁹ 

Mazmur 108:9

108:9 Moab is my wash basin. ³⁰ 

I will make Edom serve me. ³¹ 

I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”

Mazmur 131:2

131:2 Indeed ³²  I am composed and quiet, ³³ 

like a young child carried by its mother; ³⁴ 

I am content like the young child I carry. ³⁵ 

[2:2]  ¹ sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.

[2:2]  ² tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.

[2:2]  ³ tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).

[18:10]  ⁵ tn Or “rode upon.”

[18:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.

[18:10]  sn Winged angel (Heb “cherub”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Pss 80:1; 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind (see the next line of the psalm).

[18:10]  ⁷ tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.

[18:10]  ⁸ sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[29:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] over the water.” As the next line makes clear, the “voice of the Lord” is here the thunder that accompanies a violent storm. The psalm depicts the Lord in the role of a warrior-king, so the thunder is his battle cry, as it were.

[29:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form is probably descriptive. In dramatic fashion the psalmist portrays the Lord coming in the storm to do battle with his enemies and to vindicate his people.

[29:3]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally “many waters.” The geographical references in the psalm (Lebanon, Sirion, Kadesh) suggest this is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (see Ezek 26:19; 27:26). The psalmist describes a powerful storm moving in from the sea and sweeping over the mountainous areas north of Israel. The “surging waters” may symbolize the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy his people (see Pss 18:17; 32:6; 77:20; 93:4; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). In this case the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over the raging waters.

[41:7]  ¹² tn Heb “together against me they whisper, all those who hate me.” The Hitpael of לָחַשׁ (lakhash) refers here to whispering to one another (see 2 Sam 12:19).

[47:8]  ¹³ tn When a new king was enthroned, his followers would acclaim him king using this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3ms מָלַךְ, malakh, “to reign,” followed by the name of the king). See 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13, as well as Isa 52:7. In this context the perfect verbal form is generalizing, but the declaration logically follows the historical reference in v. 5 to the Lord’s having ascended his throne.

[57:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “be exalted.”

[57:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[57:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “be exalted.”

[57:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[60:8]  ¹⁸ sn The metaphor of the washbasin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 6-7), would be reduced to the status of a servant.

[60:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of,” i.e., “I will take possession of Edom.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.

[60:8]  ²⁰ tc Heb “over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph.” The translation follows the text of Ps 108:9. When the initial עֲלֵיוֹ (’aleyo, “over”) was misread as עָלַי (’alay, “over me”), the first person verb form was probably altered to an imperative to provide better sense to the line.

[80:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)

[80:17]  ²² tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.

[90:17]  ²³ tn Heb “and may the delight of the Master, our God, be on us.” The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am, “delight”) is used in Ps 27:4 of the Lord’s “beauty,” but here it seems to refer to his favor (see BDB 653 s.v.) or kindness (HALOT 706 s.v.).

[90:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the work of our hands establish over us, and the work of our hands, establish it.”

[97:9]  ²⁵ tn Traditionally “Most High.”

[103:11]  ²⁶ tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

[103:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[108:5]  ²⁸ tn Or “be exalted.”

[108:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[108:9]  ³⁰ sn The metaphor of the wash basin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 7-8), would be reduced to the status of a servant.

[108:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.

[131:2]  ³² tn Or “but.”

[131:2]  ³³ tn Heb “I make level and make quiet my soul.”

[131:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “like a weaned [one] upon his mother.”

[131:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “like the weaned [one] upon me, my soul.”