Mazmur 25:4

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ¹ 

Mazmur 51:6

51:6 Look, ²  you desire ³  integrity in the inner man; ⁴ 

you want me to possess wisdom. ⁵ 

Mazmur 98:2

98:2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver; ⁶ 

in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.

Mazmur 106:2

106:2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,

or relate all his praiseworthy deeds? ⁷ 

Mazmur 139:3

139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; ⁸ 

you are aware of everything I do. ⁹ 

[25:4]  ¹ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[51:6]  ² sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.

[51:6]  ³ tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.

[51:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.

[51:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).

[51:6]  sn You want me to possess wisdom. Here “wisdom” does not mean “intelligence” or “learning,” but refers to moral insight and skill.

[98:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”

[106:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “[or] cause to be heard all his praise.”

[139:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).

[139:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “all my ways.”