Mazmur 3:2

3:2 Many say about me,

“God will not deliver him.” ¹  (Selah) ² 

Mazmur 7:8

7:8 The Lord judges the nations. ³ 

Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, ⁴ 

because I am blameless, ⁵  O Exalted One! ⁶ 

Mazmur 18:44

18:44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. ⁷ 

Foreigners are powerless ⁸  before me;

Mazmur 40:7

40:7 Then I say,

“Look! I come!

What is written in the scroll pertains to me. ⁹ 

Mazmur 41:7

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; ¹⁰ 

they plan ways to harm me.

Mazmur 48:13

48:13 Consider its defenses! ¹¹ 

Walk through ¹²  its fortresses,

so you can tell the next generation about it! ¹³ 

Mazmur 72:18

72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise! ¹⁴ 

He alone accomplishes amazing things! ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 78:39

78:39 He remembered ¹⁶  that they were made of flesh,

and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 78:61

78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; ¹⁸ 

he gave the symbol of his splendor ¹⁹  into the hand of the enemy. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 81:4

81:4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel; ²¹ 

it is an ordinance given by the God of Jacob.

Mazmur 91:11

91:11 For he will order his angels ²² 

to protect you in all you do. ²³ 

Mazmur 92:6

92:6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;

the fool does not understand this. ²⁴ 

Mazmur 103:5

103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, ²⁵ 

so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 107:42

107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,

and every sinner ²⁷  shuts his mouth.

Mazmur 114:3

114:3 The sea looked and fled; ²⁸ 

the Jordan River ²⁹  turned back. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 126:1

Psalm 126 ³¹ 

A song of ascents. ³² 

126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, ³³ 

we thought we were dreaming. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 135:14

135:14 For the Lord vindicates ³⁵  his people,

and has compassion on his servants. ³⁶ 

Mazmur 136:23

136:23 to the one who remembered us when we were down, ³⁷ 

for his loyal love endures,

[3:2]  ¹ tn Heb “there is no deliverance for him in God.”

[3:2]  ² sn The function of the Hebrew term סֶלָה (selah), transliterated here “Selah,” is uncertain. It may be a musical direction of some kind.

[7:8]  ³ sn The Lord judges the nations. In hyperbolic fashion the psalmist pictures the nations assembled around the divine throne (v. 7a). He urges God to take his rightful place on the throne (v. 7b) and then pictures him making judicial decisions that vindicate the innocent (see vv. 8-16).

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “judge me, O Lord, according to my innocence.”

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.

[7:8]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.

[18:44]  ⁷ tn Heb “at a report of an ear they submit to me.” The report of the psalmist’s exploits is so impressive that those who hear it submit to his rulership without putting up a fight.

[18:44]  ⁸ tn For the meaning “be weak, powerless” for כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. The next line (see v. 45a), in which “foreigners” are also mentioned, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Pss 66:3; 81:15; cf. NIV “cringe”; NRSV “came cringing”).

[40:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the roll of the scroll it is written concerning me.” Apparently the psalmist refers to the law of God (see v. 8), which contains the commandments God desires him to obey. If this is a distinctly royal psalm, then the psalmist/king may be referring specifically to the regulations of kingship prescribed in Deut 17:14-20. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 315.

[41:7]  ¹⁰ 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).

[48:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “set your heart to its rampart.”

[48:13]  ¹² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word translated “walk through,” which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Cf. NEB “pass…in review”; NIV “view.”

[48:13]  ¹³ sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.

[72:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21; 41:13.

[72:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[the] one who does amazing things by himself.”

[78:39]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.

[78:39]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”

[78:61]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.

[78:61]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.

[78:61]  ²⁰ sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).

[81:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “because a statute for Israel [is] it.”

[91:11]  ²² tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”

[91:11]  ²³ tn Heb “in all your ways.”

[92:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).

[103:5]  ²⁵ tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

[103:5]  ²⁶ sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.

[107:42]  ²⁷ tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.

[114:3]  ²⁸ sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[114:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the Jordan” (also in v. 5). The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[114:3]  ³⁰ sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh 3:13, 16).

[126:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 126. Recalling the joy of past deliverance, God’s covenant community asks for a fresh display of God’s power and confidently anticipate their sorrow being transformed into joy.

[126:1]  ³² 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.

[126:1]  ³³ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew noun שִׁיבַת (shivat) occurs only here in the OT. For this reason many prefer to emend the form to the more common שְׁבִית (shevit) or שְׁבוּת (shÿvut), both of which are used as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv; see Ps 14:7). However an Aramaic cognate of שְׁבִית appears in an eighth century b.c. Old Aramaic inscription with the verb שׁוּב. This cognate noun appears to mean “return” (see J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Treaties of Sefire [BibOr], 119-20) or “restoration” (see DNWSI 2:1125). Therefore it appears that שְׁבִית should be retained and understood as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב. In addition to Fitzmyer (119-20) see L. C. Allen, who offers the literal translation, “turn with a turning toward” (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170). Allen takes שְׁבִית as construct and understands “Zion” as an objective genitive.

[126:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “we were like dreamers.” This could mean the speakers were so overcome with ecstatic joy (see v. 3b) that they were like those who fantasize about pleasurable experiences in their sleep (see Isa 29:7-8). Since dreams are more commonly associated in the OT with prophetic visions, the community may be comparing their experience of God’s renewed favor to a prophet’s receiving divine visions. Just as a prophetic dream sweeps the individual into a different dimension and sometimes brings one face-to-face with God himself (see Gen 28:11-15; 1 Kgs 3:5-15), so the community was aware of God’s presence in a special way in the day of Zion’s restoration. Though the MT as it stands makes good sense, some choose to understand a homonymic root here meaning “to be healthy; to be strong” (see BDB 321 s.v. I חָלַם) and translate, “we were like those restored to health.” This reading appears to have the support of several ancient translations as well as 11QPs^a. See L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170-71) for a discussion of the viewpoints.

[135:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the Lord “judges on behalf of” his people. The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic actions.

[135:14]  ³⁶ sn Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.

[136:23]  ³⁷ tn Heb “who, in our low condition, remembered us.”