Mazmur 38:17

38:17 For I am about to stumble,

and I am in constant pain. ¹ 

Mazmur 51:5

51:5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,

a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. ² 

Mazmur 74:12

74:12 But God has been my ³  king from ancient times,

performing acts of deliverance on the earth. ⁴ 

Mazmur 78:51

78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,

the firstfruits of their reproductive power ⁵  in the tents of Ham.

Mazmur 90:3

90:3 You make mankind return ⁶  to the dust, ⁷ 

and say, “Return, O people!”

Mazmur 104:30

104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,

and you replenish the surface of the ground.

Mazmur 132:6

132:6 Look, we heard about it ⁸  in Ephrathah, ⁹ 

we found it in the territory of Jaar. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 132:14

132:14 He said, ¹¹  “This will be my resting place forever;

I will live here, for I have chosen it. ¹² 

[38:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and my pain [is] before me continually.”

[51:5]  ² tn Heb “Look, in wrongdoing I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The prefixed verbal form in the second line is probably a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive), stating a simple historical fact. The psalmist is not suggesting that he was conceived through an inappropriate sexual relationship (although the verse has sometimes been understood to mean that, or even that all sexual relationships are sinful). The psalmist’s point is that he has been a sinner from the very moment his personal existence began. By going back beyond the time of birth to the moment of conception, the psalmist makes his point more emphatically in the second line than in the first.

[74:12]  ³ tn The psalmist speaks as Israel’s representative here.

[74:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the earth.”

[78:51]  ⁵ tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).

[90:3]  ⁶ tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.

[90:3]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term דַּכָּא (daka’) carries the basic sense of “crushed.” Elsewhere it refers to those who are “crushed” in spirit or contrite of heart (see Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15). If one understands this nuance here, then v. 3 is observing that God leads mankind to repentance (the term שׁוּב, shuv, “return,” which appears twice in this verse, is sometimes used of repentance.) However, the following context laments mankind’s mortality and the brevity of life, so it is doubtful if v. 3 should be understood so positively. It is more likely that דַּכָּא here refers to “crushed matter,” that is, the dust that fills the grave (see HALOT 221 s.v. s.v. I דַּכָּא; BDB 194 s.v. דַּכָּא). In this case one may hear an echo of Gen 3:19.

[132:6]  ⁸ tn Rather than having an antecedent, the third feminine singular pronominal suffix here (and in the next line) appears to refer to the ark of the covenant, mentioned in v. 8. (The Hebrew term אָרוֹן [’aron, “ark”] is sometimes construed as grammatically feminine. See 1 Sam 4:17; 2 Chr 8:11.)

[132:6]  ⁹ sn Some understand Ephrathah as a reference to Kiriath-jearim because of the apparent allusion to this site in the next line (see the note on “Jaar”). The ark was kept in Kiriath-jearim after the Philistines released it (see 1 Sam 6:21-7:2). However, the switch in verbs from “heard about” to “found” suggests that Ephrathah not be equated with Jair. The group who is speaking heard about the ark while they were in Ephrath. They then went to retrieve it from Kiriath-jearim (“Jaar”). It is more likely that Ephrathah refers to a site near Bethel (Gen 35:16, 19; 48:7) or to Bethlehem (Ruth 4:11; Mic 5:2).

[132:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fields of the forest.” The Hebrew term יָעַר (ya’ad, “forest”) is apparently a shortened alternative name for קִרְיַת יְעָרִים (qiryat yÿ’arim, “Kiriath-jearim”), the place where the ark was kept after it was released by the Philistines and from which David and his men retrieved it (see 1 Chr 13:6).

[132:14]  ¹¹ tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:14]  ¹² tn Heb “for I desired it.”