Mazmur 25:2

25:2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

Mazmur 51:8

51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! ¹ 

May the bones ²  you crushed rejoice! ³ 

Mazmur 97:11

97:11 The godly bask in the light;

the morally upright experience joy. ⁴ 

Mazmur 105:38

105:38 Egypt was happy when they left,

for they were afraid of them. ⁵ 

Mazmur 118:15

118:15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. ⁶ 

The Lord’s right hand conquers, ⁷ 

[51:8]  ¹ tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.

[51:8]  ² sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.

[51:8]  ³ tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.

[97:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zara’, “planted”) to זָרַח (zara’, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.

[105:38]  ⁵ tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”

[118:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sound of a ringing shout and deliverance [is] in the tents of the godly.”

[118:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “does valiantly.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 108:13).