Mazmur 28:1

Psalm 28 ¹ 

By David.

28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My protector, ²  do not ignore me! ³ 

If you do not respond to me, ⁴ 

I will join ⁵  those who are descending into the grave. ⁶ 

Mazmur 39:5

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, ⁷ 

and my life span is nothing from your perspective. ⁸ 

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. ⁹ 

Mazmur 49:10

49:10 Surely ¹⁰  one sees ¹¹  that even wise people die; ¹² 

fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away ¹³ 

and leave their wealth to others. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 58:9

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, ¹⁵ 

he ¹⁶  will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 131:1

Psalm 131 ¹⁸ 

A song of ascents, ¹⁹  by David.

131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,

nor do I have a haughty look. ²⁰ 

I do not have great aspirations,

or concern myself with things that are beyond me. ²¹ 

[28:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.

[28:1]  ² tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[28:1]  ³ tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”

[28:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”

[28:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[28:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[39:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.

[39:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”

[39:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”

[49:10]  ¹⁰ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is understood here as asseverative (emphatic).

[49:10]  ¹¹ tn The subject of the verb is probably the typical “man” mentioned in v. 7. The imperfect can be taken here as generalizing or as indicating potential (“surely he/one can see”).

[49:10]  ¹² tn The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to what is characteristically true. The vav (ו) consecutive with perfect in the third line carries the same force.

[49:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “together a fool and a brutish [man] perish.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 73:22; 92:6; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[49:10]  ¹⁴ sn Death shows no respect for anyone. No matter how wise or foolish an individual happens to be, all pass away.

[58:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”

[58:9]  ¹⁶ tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.

[58:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.

[131:1]  ¹⁸ sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.

[131:1]  ¹⁹ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[131:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”

[131:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”