Mazmur 35:24

35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!

Do not let them gloat ¹  over me!

Mazmur 51:8

51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! ² 

May the bones ³  you crushed rejoice! ⁴ 

Mazmur 85:6

85:6 Will you not revive us once more?

Then your people will rejoice in you!

[35:24]  ¹ tn Heb “rejoice.”

[51:8]  ² tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.

[51:8]  ³ sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.

[51:8]  ⁴ tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.