Mazmur 34:10

34:10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Mazmur 38:13

38:13 But I am like a deaf man – I hear nothing;

I am like a mute who cannot speak. ¹ 

Mazmur 49:15

49:15 But ²  God will rescue ³  my life ⁴  from the power ⁵  of Sheol;

certainly ⁶  he will pull me to safety. ⁷  (Selah)

Mazmur 50:16

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ⁸ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ⁹ 

Mazmur 69:29

69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!

O God, deliver and protect me! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 81:11

81:11 But my people did not obey me; ¹¹ 

Israel did not submit to me. ¹² 

Mazmur 86:15

86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.

You are patient ¹³  and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 89:33

89:33 But I will not remove ¹⁵  my loyal love from him,

nor be unfaithful to my promise. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ¹⁷ 

may the Lord remove them, ¹⁸  along with those who behave wickedly! ¹⁹ 

May Israel experience peace! ²⁰ 

Mazmur 146:9

146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;

he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, ²¹ 

but he opposes the wicked. ²² 

[38:13]  ¹ sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).

[49:15]  ² tn Or “certainly.”

[49:15]  ³ tn Or “redeem.”

[49:15]  ⁴ tn Or “me.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[49:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “hand.”

[49:15]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[49:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “he will take me.” To improve the poetic balance of the verse, some move the words “from the power of Sheol” to the following line. The verse would then read: “But God will rescue my life; / from the power of Sheol he will certainly deliver me” (cf. NEB).

[49:15]  sn According to some, the psalmist here anticipates the resurrection (or at least an afterlife in God’s presence). But it is more likely that the psalmist here expresses his hope that God will rescue him from premature death at the hands of the rich oppressors denounced in the psalm. The psalmist is well aware that all (the wise and foolish) die (see vv. 7-12), but he is confident God will lead him safely through the present “times of trouble” (v. 5) and sweep the wicked away to their final destiny. The theme is a common one in the so-called wisdom psalms (see Pss 1, 34, 37, 112). For a fuller discussion of the psalmists’ view of the afterlife, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “A Theology of the Psalms,” A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, 284-88.

[50:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[69:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”

[81:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “did not listen to my voice.”

[81:11]  ¹² tn The Hebrew expression אָבָה לִי (’avah liy) means “submit to me” (see Deut 13:8).

[86:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “slow to anger.”

[86:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”

[86:15]  sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.

[89:33]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (’afir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (’asir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.

[89:33]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”

[125:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[146:9]  ²¹ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.

[146:9]  ²² tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.