Mazmur 34:1

Psalm 34 ¹ 

Written by David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away. ² 

34:1 I will praise ³  the Lord at all times;

my mouth will continually praise him. ⁴ 

Mazmur 48:10

48:10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth

is worthy of your reputation, O God. ⁵ 

You execute justice! ⁶ 

Mazmur 79:13

79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will continually thank you. ⁷ 

We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts. ⁸ 

Mazmur 106:47

106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!

Gather us from among the nations!

Then we will give thanks ⁹  to your holy name,

and boast about your praiseworthy deeds. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 148:14

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ¹¹ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ¹² 

Praise the Lord!

[34:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 34. In this song of thanksgiving the psalmist praises God for delivering him from distress. He encourages others to be loyal to the Lord, tells them how to please God, and assures them that the Lord protects his servants. The psalm is an acrostic; vv. 1-21 begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. (Verse 6 begins with the letter he (ה) and v. 7 with the letter zayin (ז). The letter vav (ו), which comes between ה and ז, seems to be omitted, although it does appear at the beginning of v. 6b. The final verse of the psalm, which begins with the letter pe (פ), is outside the acrostic scheme.

[34:1]  ² tn Heb “By David, when he changed his sense before Abimelech and he drove him away and he went.”

[34:1]  sn Pretended to be insane. The psalm heading appears to refer to the account in 1 Sam 21:10-15 which tells how David, fearful that King Achish of Gath might kill him, pretended to be insane in hopes that the king would simply send him away. The psalm heading names the king Abimelech, not Achish, suggesting that the tradition is confused on this point. However, perhaps “Abimelech” was a royal title, rather than a proper name. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 278.

[34:1]  ³ tn Heb “bless.”

[34:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “continually [will] his praise [be] in my mouth.”

[48:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “like your name, O God, so [is] your praise to the ends of the earth.” Here “name” refers to God’s reputation and revealed character.

[48:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “your right hand is full of justice.” The “right hand” suggests activity and power.

[79:13]  ⁷ tn Or (hyperbolically) “will thank you forever.”

[79:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation we will report your praise.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[106:47]  ⁹ tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.

[106:47]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”

[148:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ¹² tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.