Mazmur 4:3

4:3 Realize that ¹  the Lord shows the godly special favor; ² 

the Lord responds ³  when I cry out to him.

Mazmur 8:1

Psalm 8 ⁴ 

For the music director, according to the gittith style; ⁵  a psalm of David.

8:1 O Lord, our Lord, ⁶ 

how magnificent ⁷  is your reputation ⁸  throughout the earth!

You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! ⁹ 

Mazmur 11:4

11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; ¹⁰ 

the Lord’s throne is in heaven. ¹¹ 

His eyes ¹²  watch; ¹³ 

his eyes ¹⁴  examine ¹⁵  all people. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 16:4

16:4 their troubles multiply,

they desire other gods. ¹⁷ 

I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods, ¹⁸ 

nor will I make vows in the name of their gods. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 17:14-15

17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ²⁰ 

from the murderers of this world! ²¹ 

They enjoy prosperity; ²² 

you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ²³ 

They have many children,

and leave their wealth to their offspring. ²⁴ 

17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; ²⁵ 

when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 18:2

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ²⁷  my stronghold, ²⁸  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ²⁹  I take shelter, ³⁰ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ³¹  and my refuge. ³² 

Mazmur 18:8

18:8 Smoke ascended from ³³  his nose; ³⁴ 

fire devoured as it came from his mouth; ³⁵ 

he hurled down fiery coals. ³⁶ 

Mazmur 18:11

18:11 He shrouded himself in darkness, ³⁷ 

in thick rain clouds. ³⁸ 

Mazmur 18:30

18:30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; ³⁹ 

the Lord’s promise ⁴⁰  is reliable; ⁴¹ 

he is a shield to all who take shelter ⁴²  in him.

Mazmur 18:35

18:35 You give me your protective shield; ⁴³ 

your right hand supports me; ⁴⁴ 

your willingness to help ⁴⁵  enables me to prevail. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 18:50

18:50 He ⁴⁷  gives his chosen king magnificent victories; ⁴⁸ 

he is faithful ⁴⁹  to his chosen ruler, ⁵⁰ 

to David and his descendants ⁵¹  forever.” ⁵² 

Mazmur 20:6

20:6 Now I am sure ⁵³  that the Lord will deliver ⁵⁴  his chosen king; ⁵⁵ 

he will intervene for him ⁵⁶  from his holy heavenly temple, ⁵⁷ 

and display his mighty ability to deliver. ⁵⁸ 

Mazmur 21:9

21:9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace ⁵⁹  when you appear; ⁶⁰ 

the Lord angrily devours them; ⁶¹ 

the fire consumes them.

Mazmur 22:9

22:9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out ⁶²  from the womb

and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.

Mazmur 22:25

22:25 You are the reason I offer praise ⁶³  in the great assembly;

I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. ⁶⁴ 

Mazmur 28:7

28:7 The Lord strengthens and protects me; ⁶⁵ 

I trust in him with all my heart. ⁶⁶ 

I am rescued ⁶⁷  and my heart is full of joy; ⁶⁸ 

I will sing to him in gratitude. ⁶⁹ 

Mazmur 30:5

30:5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,

and his good favor restores one’s life. ⁷⁰ 

One may experience sorrow during the night,

but joy arrives in the morning. ⁷¹ 

Mazmur 31:20

31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks ⁷²  of men; ⁷³ 

you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. ⁷⁴ 

Mazmur 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ⁷⁵ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ⁷⁶  mankind and the animal kingdom. ⁷⁷ 

Mazmur 36:8

36:8 They are filled with food from your house,

and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.

Mazmur 41:2

41:2 May the Lord protect him and save his life! ⁷⁸ 

May he be blessed ⁷⁹  in the land!

Do not turn him over ⁸⁰  to his enemies! ⁸¹ 

Mazmur 42:6

42:6 I am depressed, ⁸² 

so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, ⁸³ 

from Hermon, ⁸⁴  from Mount Mizar. ⁸⁵ 

Mazmur 42:11

42:11 Why are you depressed, ⁸⁶  O my soul? ⁸⁷ 

Why are you upset? ⁸⁸ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ⁸⁹ 

Mazmur 43:5

43:5 Why are you depressed, ⁹⁰  O my soul? ⁹¹ 

Why are you upset? ⁹² 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ⁹³ 

Mazmur 46:1

Psalm 46 ⁹⁴ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ⁹⁵  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ⁹⁶ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ⁹⁷ 

Mazmur 50:21

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, ⁹⁸ 

so you thought I was exactly like you. ⁹⁹ 

But now I will condemn ¹⁰⁰  you

and state my case against you! ¹⁰¹ 

Mazmur 51:4

51:4 Against you – you above all ¹⁰²  – I have sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So ¹⁰³  you are just when you confront me; ¹⁰⁴ 

you are right when you condemn me. ¹⁰⁵ 

Mazmur 52:5

52:5 Yet ¹⁰⁶  God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. ¹⁰⁷ 

He will scoop you up ¹⁰⁸  and remove you from your home; ¹⁰⁹ 

he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

Mazmur 52:8--53:1

52:8 But I ¹¹⁰  am like a flourishing ¹¹¹  olive tree in the house of God;

I continually ¹¹²  trust in God’s loyal love.

52:9 I will continually ¹¹³  thank you when ¹¹⁴  you execute judgment; ¹¹⁵ 

I will rely ¹¹⁶  on you, ¹¹⁷  for your loyal followers know you are good. ¹¹⁸ 

Psalm 53 ¹¹⁹ 

For the music director; according to the machalath style; ¹²⁰  a well-written song ¹²¹  by David.

53:1 Fools say to themselves, ¹²²  “There is no God.” ¹²³ 

They sin and commit evil deeds; ¹²⁴ 

none of them does what is right. ¹²⁵ 

Mazmur 55:19

55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,

will hear and humiliate them. ¹²⁶  (Selah)

They refuse to change,

and do not fear God. ¹²⁷ 

Mazmur 56:13

56:13 when you deliver ¹²⁸  my life from death.

You keep my feet from stumbling, ¹²⁹ 

so that I might serve ¹³⁰  God as I enjoy life. ¹³¹ 

Mazmur 57:4

57:4 I am surrounded by lions;

I lie down ¹³²  among those who want to devour me; ¹³³ 

men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are a sharp sword. ¹³⁴ 

Mazmur 58:9

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, ¹³⁵ 

he ¹³⁶  will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. ¹³⁷ 

Mazmur 60:4

60:4 You have given your loyal followers ¹³⁸  a rallying flag,

so that they might seek safety from the bow. ¹³⁹  (Selah)

Mazmur 60:6

60:6 God has spoken in his sanctuary: ¹⁴⁰ 

“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;

the Valley of Succoth I will measure off. ¹⁴¹ 

Mazmur 61:2

61:2 From the most remote place on earth ¹⁴² 

I call out to you in my despair. ¹⁴³ 

Lead me ¹⁴⁴  up to an inaccessible rocky summit! ¹⁴⁵ 

Mazmur 65:5

65:5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,

O God, our savior. ¹⁴⁶ 

All the ends of the earth trust in you, ¹⁴⁷ 

as well as those living across the wide seas. ¹⁴⁸ 

Mazmur 68:11

68:11 The Lord speaks; ¹⁴⁹ 

many, many women spread the good news. ¹⁵⁰ 

Mazmur 72:16

72:16 May there be ¹⁵¹  an abundance ¹⁵²  of grain in the earth;

on the tops ¹⁵³  of the mountains may it ¹⁵⁴  sway! ¹⁵⁵ 

May its ¹⁵⁶  fruit trees ¹⁵⁷  flourish ¹⁵⁸  like the forests of Lebanon! ¹⁵⁹ 

May its crops ¹⁶⁰  be as abundant ¹⁶¹  as the grass of the earth! ¹⁶² 

Mazmur 74:9

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ¹⁶³ 

there are no longer any prophets ¹⁶⁴ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ¹⁶⁵ 

Mazmur 78:4

78:4 we will not hide from their ¹⁶⁶  descendants.

We will tell the next generation

about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, ¹⁶⁷ 

about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

Mazmur 78:50

78:50 He sent his anger in full force; ¹⁶⁸ 

he did not spare them from death;

he handed their lives over to destruction. ¹⁶⁹ 

Mazmur 78:55

78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;

he assigned them their tribal allotments ¹⁷⁰ 

and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. ¹⁷¹ 

Mazmur 84:10

84:10 Certainly ¹⁷²  spending just one day in your temple courts is better

than spending a thousand elsewhere. ¹⁷³ 

I would rather stand at the entrance ¹⁷⁴  to the temple of my God

than live ¹⁷⁵  in the tents of the wicked.

Mazmur 89:14

89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. ¹⁷⁶ 

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. ¹⁷⁷ 

Mazmur 89:19

89:19 Then you ¹⁷⁸  spoke through a vision to your faithful followers ¹⁷⁹  and said:

“I have energized a warrior; ¹⁸⁰ 

I have raised up a young man ¹⁸¹  from the people.

Mazmur 90:10

90:10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, ¹⁸² 

or eighty, if one is especially strong. ¹⁸³ 

But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. ¹⁸⁴ 

Yes, ¹⁸⁵  they pass quickly ¹⁸⁶  and we fly away. ¹⁸⁷ 

Mazmur 95:7

95:7 For he is our God;

we are the people of his pasture,

the sheep he owns. ¹⁸⁸ 

Today, if only you would obey him! ¹⁸⁹ 

Mazmur 97:10

97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He protects ¹⁹⁰  the lives of his faithful followers;

he delivers them from the power ¹⁹¹  of the wicked.

Mazmur 98:1

Psalm 98 ¹⁹² 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ¹⁹³ 

for he performs ¹⁹⁴  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ¹⁹⁵ 

Mazmur 99:6

99:6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;

Samuel was one of those who prayed to him. ¹⁹⁶ 

They ¹⁹⁷  prayed to the Lord and he answered them.

Mazmur 108:7

108:7 God has spoken in his sanctuary: ¹⁹⁸ 

“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem,

the valley of Succoth I will measure off. ¹⁹⁹ 

Mazmur 110:3

110:3 Your people willingly follow you ²⁰⁰  when you go into battle. ²⁰¹ 

On the holy hills ²⁰²  at sunrise ²⁰³  the dew of your youth ²⁰⁴  belongs to you. ²⁰⁵ 

Mazmur 119:75

119:75 I know, Lord, that your regulations ²⁰⁶  are just.

You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me. ²⁰⁷ 

Mazmur 126:2

126:2 At that time we laughed loudly

and shouted for joy. ²⁰⁸ 

At that time the nations said, ²⁰⁹ 

“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”

Mazmur 139:16

139:16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. ²¹⁰ 

All the days ordained for me

were recorded in your scroll

before one of them came into existence. ²¹¹ 

Mazmur 142:7

142:7 Free me ²¹²  from prison,

that I may give thanks to your name.

Because of me the godly will assemble, ²¹³ 

for you will vindicate me. ²¹⁴ 

Mazmur 148:14

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ²¹⁵ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ²¹⁶ 

Praise the Lord!

[4:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and know that.”

[4:3]  ² tn Heb “that the Lord sets apart a faithful one for himself.” The psalmist states a general principle, though the singular form and the parallel line indicate he has himself in mind as the representative godly person. A חָסִיד (khasid; here translated as “the godly”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[4:3]  ³ tn Heb “hears.”

[8:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.

[8:1]  ⁵ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.

[8:1]  ⁶ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

[8:1]  ⁷ tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”

[8:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[8:1]  ⁹ tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.

[11:4]  ¹⁰ tn Because of the royal imagery involved here, one could translate “lofty palace.” The Lord’s heavenly temple is in view here (see Mic 1:2-4).

[11:4]  ¹¹ sn The Lord’s throne is in heaven. The psalmist is confident that the Lord reigns as sovereign king, “keeps an eye on” all people, and responds in a just manner to the godly and wicked.

[11:4]  ¹² sn His eyes. The anthropomorphic language draws attention to God’s awareness of and interest in the situation on earth. Though the enemies are hidden by the darkness (v. 2), the Lord sees all.

[11:4]  ¹³ tn The two Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this verse describe the Lord’s characteristic activity.

[11:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “eyelids.”

[11:4]  ¹⁵ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 7:9; 26:2; 139:23.

[11:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “test the sons of men.”

[16:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “their troubles multiply, another, they pay a dowry.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The Hebrew term עַצְּבוֹתָם (’atsÿvotam, “troubles”) appears to be a plural form of עַצֶּבֶת (’atsÿvet, “pain, wound”; see Job 9:28; Ps 147:3). Because idolatry appears to be in view (see v. 4b), some prefer to emend the noun to עַצְּבִים (’atsÿvim, “idols”). “Troubles” may be a wordplay on “idols” or a later alteration designed to emphasize that idolatry leads to trouble. The singular form אחר (“another”) is syntactically problematic here. Perhaps the form should be emended to a plural אֲחֵרִים (’akherim, “others”). (The final mem [ם] could have been lost by haplography; note the mem [מ] at the beginning of the next word.) In this case it might be taken as an abbreviated form of the well-attested phrase אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים (’elohim ’akherim, “other gods”). (In Isa 42:8 the singular form אַחַר (’akher, “another”) is used of another god.) The verb מָהַר (mahar) appears in the Qal stem; the only other use of a Qal verbal form of a root מָהַר is in Exod 22:15, where the denominative verb מָהֹר (mahor, “purchase [a wife]”) appears; cf. the related noun מֹהַר (mohar, “bride money, purchase price for a wife”). If that verb is understood here, then the idolaters are pictured as eager bridegrooms paying the price to acquire the object of their desire. Another option is to emend the verb to a Piel and translate, “hurry (after).”

[16:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood.” The third masculine plural suffix would appear to refer back to the people/leaders mentioned in v. 3. However, if we emend אֲחֵר (’akher, “another”) to the plural אֲחֵרִים (’akherim, “other [gods]”) in v. 4, the suffix can be understood as referring to these gods – “the drink offerings [made to] them.” The next line favors this interpretation. Perhaps this refers to some type of pagan cultic ritual. Elsewhere wine is the prescribed content of drink offerings.

[16:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I will not lift up their names upon my lips.” The expression “lift up the name” probably refers here to swearing an oath in the name of deity (see Exod 20:7; Deut 5:11). If so, the third masculine plural suffix on “names” likely refers to the pagan gods, not the people/leaders. See the preceding note.

[17:14]  ²⁰ tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimtim, “from men”) to מִמְמִתִים (mimmitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).

[17:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”

[17:14]  ²² tn Heb “their portion, in life.”

[17:14]  ²³ tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”

[17:14]  sn You overwhelm them with the riches they desire. The psalmist is not accusing God of being unjust; he is simply observing that the wicked often prosper and that God is the ultimate source of all blessings that human beings enjoy (see Matt 5:45). When the wicked are ungrateful for God’s blessings, they become even more culpable and deserving of judgment. So this description of the wicked actually supports the psalmist’s appeal for deliverance. God should rescue him because he is innocent (see vv. 3-5) and because the wicked, though blessed abundantly by God, still have the audacity to attack God’s people.

[17:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”

[17:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”

[17:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.

[17:15]  sn When I awake you will reveal yourself to me. Some see in this verse an allusion to resurrection. According to this view, when the psalmist awakens from the sleep of death, he will see God. It is unlikely that the psalmist had such a highly developed personal eschatology. As noted above, it is more likely that he is anticipating a divine visitation and mystical encounter as a prelude to his deliverance from his enemies.

[18:2]  ²⁷ sn My high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[18:2]  ²⁸ sn My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.

[18:2]  ²⁹ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ³⁰ sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[18:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “the horn of my salvation”; or “my saving horn.”

[18:2]  sn Though some see “horn” as referring to a horn-shaped peak of a hill, or to the “horns” of an altar where one could find refuge, it is more likely that the horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. 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 the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that uses its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36. Ps 18:2 uses the metaphor of the horn in a slightly different manner. Here the Lord himself is compared to a horn. He is to the psalmist what the horn is to the ox, a source of defense and victory.

[18:2]  ³² tn Or “my elevated place.” The parallel version of this psalm in 2 Sam 22:3 adds at this point, “my refuge, my savior, [you who] save me from violence.”

[18:8]  ³³ tn Heb “within”; or “[from] within.” For a discussion of the use of the preposition -בְּ (bÿ) here, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 163-64.

[18:8]  ³⁴ tn Or “in his anger.” The noun אַף (’af) can carry the abstract meaning “anger,” but the parallelism (note “from his mouth”) suggests the more concrete meaning “nose” here. See also v. 15, “the powerful breath of your nose.”

[18:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “fire from his mouth devoured.” In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the two perfect verbal forms in the verse.

[18:8]  sn Fire devoured as it came from his mouth. For other examples of fire as a weapon in OT theophanies and ancient Near Eastern portrayals of warring gods and kings, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 165-67.

[18:8]  ³⁶ tn Heb “coals burned from him.” Perhaps the psalmist pictures God’s fiery breath igniting coals (cf. Job 41:21), which he then hurls as weapons (cf. Ps 120:4).

[18:11]  ³⁷ tc Heb “he made darkness his hiding place around him, his covering.” 2 Sam 22:12 reads, “he made darkness around him coverings,” omitting “his hiding place” and pluralizing “covering.” Ps 18:11 may include a conflation of synonyms (“his hiding place” and “his covering”) or 2 Sam 22:12 may be the result of haplography/homoioarcton. Note that three successive words in Ps 18:11 begin with the Hebrew letter samek: סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ (sitro sÿvivotayv sukkato).

[18:11]  ³⁸ tc Heb “darkness of water, clouds of clouds.” The noun “darkness” (חֶשְׁכַת, kheshkhat) is probably a corruption of an original reading חשׁרת, a form that is preserved in 2 Sam 22:12. The latter is a construct form of חַשְׁרָה (khashrah, “sieve”) which occurs only here in the OT. A cognate Ugaritic noun means “sieve,” and a related verb חָשַׁר (khashar, “to sift”) is attested in postbiblical Hebrew and Aramaic. The phrase חַשְׁרַת מַיִם (khashrat mayim) means literally “a sieve of water.” It pictures the rain clouds as a sieve through which the rain falls to the ground (see F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry [SBLDS], 146, n. 33).

[18:30]  ³⁹ tn Heb “[As for] the God, his way is blameless.” The term הָאֵל (ha’el, “the God”) stands as a nominative (or genitive) absolute in apposition to the resumptive pronominal suffix on “way.” The prefixed article emphasizes his distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). God’s “way” in this context refers to his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 103:7; 138:5; 145:17).

[18:30]  ⁴⁰ sn The Lord’s promise. In the ancient Near East kings would typically seek and receive oracles from their god(s) prior to battle. For examples, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 241-42.

[18:30]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is purified.” The Lord’s “word” probably refers here to his oracle(s) of victory delivered to the psalmist before the battle(s) described in the following context. See also Pss 12:5-7 and 138:2-3. David frequently received such oracles before going into battle (see 1 Sam 23:2, 4-5, 10-12; 30:8; 2 Sam 5:19). The Lord’s word of promise is absolutely reliable; it is compared to metal that has been refined in fire and cleansed of impurities. See Ps 12:6.

[18:30]  ⁴² sn Take shelter. See the note on the word “shelter” in v. 2.

[18:35]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and you give to me the shield of your deliverance.”

[18:35]  sn You give me your protective shield. Ancient Near Eastern literature often refers to a god giving a king special weapons. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 260-61.

[18:35]  ⁴⁴ tc 2 Sam 22:36 omits this line, perhaps due to homoioarcton. A scribe’s eye may have jumped from the vav (ו) prefixed to “your right hand” to the vav prefixed to the following “and your answer,” causing the copyist to omit by accident the intervening words (“your right hand supports me and”).

[18:35]  ⁴⁵ tn The MT of Ps 18:35 appears to read, “your condescension,” apparently referring to God’s willingness to intervene (cf. NIV “you stoop down”). However, the noun עֲנָוָה (’anavah) elsewhere means “humility” and is used only here of God. The form עַנְוַתְךָ (’anvatÿkha) may be a fully written form of the suffixed infinitive construct of עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”; a defectively written form of the infinitive appears in 2 Sam 22:36). In this case the psalmist refers to God’s willingness to answer his prayer; one might translate, “your favorable response.”

[18:35]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “makes me great.”

[18:50]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “the one who.”

[18:50]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “magnifies the victories of his king.” “His king” refers to the psalmist, the Davidic king whom God has chosen to rule Israel.

[18:50]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty.”

[18:50]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “his anointed [one],” i.e., the psalmist/Davidic king. See Ps 2:2.

[18:50]  ⁵¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[18:50]  ⁵² sn If David is the author of the psalm (see the superscription), then he here anticipates that God will continue to demonstrate loyalty to his descendants who succeed him. If the author is a later Davidic king, then he views the divine favor he has experienced as the outworking of God’s faithful promises to David his ancestor.

[20:6]  ⁵³ tn Or “know.”

[20:6]  sn Now I am sure. The speaker is not identified. It is likely that the king, referring to himself in the third person (note “his chosen king”), responds to the people’s prayer. Perhaps his confidence is due to the reception of a divine oracle of salvation.

[20:6]  ⁵⁴ tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.

[20:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.

[20:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “he will answer him.”

[20:6]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”

[20:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).

[21:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “you make them like a furnace of fire.” Although many modern translations retain the literal Hebrew, the statement is elliptical. The point is not that he makes them like a furnace, but like an object burned in a furnace (cf. NEB, “at your coming you shall plunge them into a fiery furnace”).

[21:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “at the time of your face.” The “face” of the king here refers to his angry presence. See Lam 4:16.

[21:9]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “the Lord, in his anger he swallows them, and fire devours them.” Some take “the Lord” as a vocative, in which case he is addressed in vv. 8-9a. But this makes the use of the third person in v. 9b rather awkward, though the king could be the subject (see vv. 1-7).

[22:9]  ⁶² tn Or “the one who pulled me.” The verb is derived from either גָחָה (gakhah; see HALOT 187 s.v. גחה) or גִּיחַ (giyakh; see BDB 161 s.v. גִּיחַ) and seems to carry the nuance “burst forth” or “pull out.”

[22:25]  ⁶³ tn Heb “from with you [is] my praise.”

[22:25]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.” When asking the Lord for help, the psalmists would typically promise to praise the Lord publicly if he intervened and delivered them.

[28:7]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “The Lord [is] my strength and my shield.”

[28:7]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “in him my heart trusts.”

[28:7]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “I am helped.”

[28:7]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and my heart exults.”

[28:7]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and from my song I will thank him.” As pointed in the Hebrew text, מִשִּׁירִי (mishiri) appears to be “from my song,” but the preposition “from” never occurs elsewhere with the verb “to thank” (Hiphil of יָדָה, yadah). Perhaps משׁיר is a noun form meaning “song.” If so, it can be taken as an adverbial accusative, “and [with] my song I will thank him.” See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 236.

[30:5]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “for [there is] a moment in his anger, [but] life in his favor.” Because of the parallelism with “moment,” some understand חַיִּים (khayyim) in a quantitative sense: “lifetime” (cf. NIV, NRSV). However, the immediate context, which emphasizes deliverance from death (see v. 3), suggests that חַיִּים has a qualitative sense: “physical life” or even “prosperous life” (cf. NEB “in his favour there is life”).

[30:5]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “in the evening weeping comes to lodge, but at morning a shout of joy.” “Weeping” is personified here as a traveler who lodges with one temporarily.

[31:20]  ⁷² tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”

[31:20]  ⁷³ tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.

[31:20]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”

[36:6]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ⁷⁷ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[41:2]  ⁷⁸ tn The prefixed verbal forms are taken as jussives in the translation because the jussive is clearly used in the final line of the verse, suggesting that this is a prayer. The psalmist stops to pronounce a prayer of blessing on the godly individual envisioned in v. 1. Of course, he actually has himself primarily in view. He mixes confidence (vv. 1, 3) with petition (v. 2) because he stands in the interval between the word of assurance and the actual intervention by God.

[41:2]  ⁷⁹ tc The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib), which has a Pual (passive) prefixed form, regarded here as a jussive. The Pual of the verb אָשַׁר (’ashar) also appears in Prov 3:18. The marginal reading (Qere) assumes a vav (ו) consecutive and Pual perfect. Some, with the support of the LXX, change the verb to a Piel (active) form with an objective pronominal suffix, “and may he bless him,” or “and he will bless him” (cf. NIV).

[41:2]  ⁸⁰ tn The negative particle אַל (’al) before the prefixed verbal form indicates the verb is a jussive and the statement a prayer. Those who want to take v. 2 as a statement of confidence suggest emending the negative particle to לֹא (lo’), which is used with the imperfect. See the earlier note on the verbal forms in line one of this verse. According to GKC 322 §109.e, this is a case where the jussive is used rhetorically to “express that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one might translate, “you will not turn him over to his enemies,” and take the preceding verbal forms as indicative in mood.

[41:2]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “do not give him over to the desire of his enemies” (see Ps 27:12).

[42:6]  ⁸² tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.

[42:6]  ⁸³ tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.

[42:6]  ⁸⁴ tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.

[42:6]  ⁸⁵ tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.

[42:11]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:11]  ⁸⁷ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:11]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[42:11]  ⁸⁹ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.

[43:5]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[43:5]  ⁹¹ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[43:5]  ⁹² tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[43:5]  ⁹³ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.

[46:1]  ⁹⁴ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ⁹⁵ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[50:21]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21]  sn The Lord was silent in the sense that he delayed punishment. Of course, God’s patience toward sinners eventually runs out. The divine “silence” is only temporary (see v. 3, where the psalmist, having described God’s arrival, observes that “he is not silent”).

[50:21]  ⁹⁹ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[51:4]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”

[51:4]  ¹⁰³ tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.

[51:4]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).

[51:4]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “when you judge.”

[52:5]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.

[52:5]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”

[52:5]  ¹⁰⁸ tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.

[52:5]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “from [your] tent.”

[52:8]  ¹¹⁰ tn The disjunctive construction (vav [ו] + subject) highlights the contrast between the evildoer’s destiny (vv. 5-7) and that of the godly psalmist’s security.

[52:8]  ¹¹¹ tn Or “luxuriant, green, leafy.”

[52:8]  ¹¹² tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever and ever.”

[52:9]  ¹¹³ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

[52:9]  ¹¹⁶ tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

[53:1]  ¹¹⁹ sn Psalm 53. This psalm is very similar to Ps 14. The major difference comes in v. 5, which corresponds to, but differs quite a bit from, Ps 14:5-6, and in the use of the divine name. Ps 14 uses “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, “Yahweh”) in vv. 2a, 4, 6, and 7, while Ps 53 employs “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) throughout, as one might expect in Pss 42-83, where the name “Yahweh” is relatively infrequent. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

[53:1]  ¹²⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מָחֲלַת (makhalat, “machalath”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term also appears in the heading of Ps 88.

[53:1]  ¹²¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[53:1]  ¹²² tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

[53:1]  ¹²³ sn There is no God. This statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that he is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

[53:1]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “they act corruptly, they do evil [with] injustice.” Ps 14:1 has עֲלִילָה (’alilah, “a deed”) instead of עָוֶל (’aval, “injustice”). The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

[53:1]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[55:19]  ¹²⁶ tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).

[55:19]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”

[56:13]  ¹²⁸ tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the Lord intervened on the psalmist’s behalf. In this case one may translate, “for you have delivered.” Other options include taking the perfect as (3) generalizing (“for you deliver”) or (4) rhetorical (“for you will”).

[56:13]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.

[56:13]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.

[56:13]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.

[57:4]  ¹³² tn The cohortative form אֶשְׁכְּבָה (’eshkÿvah, “I lie down”) is problematic, for it does not seem to carry one of the normal functions of the cohortative (resolve or request). One possibility is that the form here is a “pseudo-cohortative” used here in a gnomic sense (IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3b).

[57:4]  ¹³³ tn The Hebrew verb לָהַט (lahat) is here understood as a hapax legomenon meaning “devour” (see HALOT 521 s.v. II להט), a homonym of the more common verb meaning “to burn.” A more traditional interpretation takes the verb from this latter root and translates, “those who are aflame” (see BDB 529 s.v.; cf. NASB “those who breathe forth fire”).

[57:4]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “my life, in the midst of lions, I lie down, devouring ones, sons of mankind, their teeth a spear and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.” The syntax of the verse is difficult. Another option is to take “my life” with the preceding verse. For this to make sense, one must add a verb, perhaps “and may he deliver” (cf. the LXX), before the phrase. One might then translate, “May God send his loyal love and faithfulness and deliver my life.” If one does take “my life” with v. 4, then the parallelism of v. 5 is altered and one might translate: “in the midst of lions I lie down, [among] men who want to devour me, whose teeth….”

[58:9]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”

[58:9]  ¹³⁶ tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.

[58:9]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.

[60:4]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “those who fear you.”

[60:4]  ¹³⁹ tn There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” (HALOT 681 s.v. נוס) or “take flight for oneself” (BDB 630-31 s.v. נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” (BDB 651 s.v. II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” (HALOT 704 s.v. II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; BDB 905-6 s.v. קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qosht, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. NASB). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”

[60:6]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “in his holy place.”

[60:6]  ¹⁴¹ sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Succoth for the region east of the Jordan.

[61:2]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).

[61:2]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “while my heart faints.”

[61:2]  ¹⁴⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[61:2]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”

[65:5]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”

[65:5]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”

[65:5]  sn All the ends of the earth trust in you. This idealistic portrayal of universal worship is typical hymnic hyperbole, though it does anticipate eschatological reality.

[65:5]  ¹⁴⁸ tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rÿkhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.

[68:11]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “gives a word.” Perhaps this refers to a divine royal decree or battle cry.

[68:11]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “the ones spreading the good news [are] a large army.” The participle translated “the ones spreading the good news” is a feminine plural form. Apparently the good news here is the announcement that enemy kings have been defeated (see v. 12).

[72:16]  ¹⁵¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. The translation assumes the subject is impersonal (rather than the king).

[72:16]  ¹⁵² tn The Hebrew noun פִסַּה (pissah; which appears here in the construct form) occurs only here in the OT. Perhaps the noun is related to the verbal root פָּשָׂה (pasah, “to spread,” see BDB 832 s.v.; the root appears as פָּסָה [pasah] in postbiblical Hebrew), which is used in postbiblical Hebrew of the rising sun’s rays spreading over the horizon and a tree’s branches spreading out (see Jastrow 1194 s.v. פסי, פָּסָה, פָּשָׂה). In Ps 72:16 a “spreading of grain” would refer to grain fields extending out over the land. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:139) emend the form to סְפִיחַ (sÿfiakh, “second growth”).

[72:16]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “top” (singular).

[72:16]  ¹⁵⁴ tn That is, the grain.

[72:16]  ¹⁵⁵ tn According to the traditional accentuation of the MT, this verb belongs with what follows. See the translator’s note at the end of the verse for a discussion of the poetic parallelism and interpretation of the verse.

[72:16]  ¹⁵⁶ tn The antecedent of the third masculine singular pronominal suffix is unclear. It is unlikely that the antecedent is אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) because this noun is normally grammatically feminine. Perhaps רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “top [of the mountains]”) is the antecedent. Another option is to understand the pronoun as referring to the king, who would then be viewed as an instrument of divine agricultural blessing (see v. 6).

[72:16]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “fruit.”

[72:16]  ¹⁵⁸ tc According to the traditional accentuation of the MT, this verb belongs with what follows. See the note on the word “earth” at the end of the verse for a discussion of the poetic parallelism and interpretation of the verse. The present translation takes it with the preceding words, “like Lebanon its fruit” and emends the verb form from וְיָצִיצוּ (vÿyatsitsu; Qal imperfect third masculine plural with prefixed vav, [ו]) to יָצִיץ (yatsits; Qal imperfect third masculine singular). The initial vav is eliminated as dittographic (note the vav on the ending of the preceding form פִּרְיוֹ, piryo, “its/his fruit”) and the vav at the end of the form is placed on the following emended form (see the note on the word “crops”), yielding וַעֲמִיר (va’amir, “and [its] crops”).

[72:16]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “like Lebanon.”

[72:16]  ¹⁶⁰ tc The MT has “from the city.” The translation assumes an emendation to עֲמִיר (’amir, “crops”).

[72:16]  ¹⁶¹ tn The translation assumes that the verb צוץ (“flourish”) goes with the preceding line. The words “be as abundant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[72:16]  ¹⁶² tc The traditional accentuation and vocalization of the MT differ from the text assumed by the present translation. The MT reads as follows: “May there be an abundance of grain in the earth, / and on the tops of the mountains! / May its [or “his”?] fruit [trees?] rustle like [the trees of] Lebanon! / May they flourish from the city, like the grass of the earth!” If one follows the MT, then it would appear that the “fruit” of the third line is a metaphorical reference to the king’s people, who flow out from the cities to populate the land (see line 4). Elsewhere in the OT people are sometimes compared to grass that sprouts up from the land (see v. 7, as well as Isa 27:6; Pss 92:7; 103:15). The translation understands a different poetic structural arrangement and, assuming the emendations mentioned in earlier notes, interprets each line of the verse to be a prayer for agricultural abundance.

[74:9]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[78:4]  ¹⁶⁶ tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).

[78:4]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[78:50]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.

[78:50]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”

[78:55]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”

[78:55]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”

[84:10]  ¹⁷² tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).

[84:10]  ¹⁷⁵ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.

[89:14]  ¹⁷⁶ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[89:14]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).

[89:19]  ¹⁷⁸ tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.

[89:19]  ¹⁷⁹ tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).

[89:19]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”

[89:19]  ¹⁸¹ tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”

[90:10]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “the days of our years, in them [are] seventy years.”

[90:10]  ¹⁸³ tn Heb “or if [there is] strength, eighty years.”

[90:10]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “and their pride [is] destruction and wickedness.” The Hebrew noun רֹהַב (rohav) occurs only here. BDB 923 s.v. assigns the meaning “pride,” deriving the noun from the verbal root רהב (“to act stormily [boisterously, arrogantly]”). Here the “pride” of one’s days (see v. 9) probably refers to one’s most productive years in the prime of life. The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 10:7. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10. The oppressive and abusive actions of evil men are probably in view (see Job 4:8; 5:6; 15:35; Isa 10:1; 59:4).

[90:10]  ¹⁸⁵ tn or “for.”

[90:10]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “it passes quickly.” The subject of the verb is probably “their pride” (see the preceding line). The verb גּוּז (guz) means “to pass” here; it occurs only here and in Num 11:31.

[90:10]  ¹⁸⁷ sn We fly away. The psalmist compares life to a bird that quickly flies off (see Job 20:8).

[95:7]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “of his hand.”

[95:7]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[97:10]  ¹⁹⁰ tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the Lord.” In this case one could translate, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, the one who protects the lives…and delivers them.”

[97:10]  ¹⁹¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[98:1]  ¹⁹² sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

[98:1]  ¹⁹³ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

[98:1]  ¹⁹⁴ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

[98:1]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.

[99:6]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”

[99:6]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.

[108:7]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “in his holy place.”

[108:7]  ¹⁹⁹ sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan River; the valley of Succoth represents the region east of the Jordan.

[110:3]  ²⁰⁰ tn Heb “your people, free will offerings.” Perhaps the people, in their willingness to volunteer, are compared metaphorically to freewill offerings. Following the LXX, some revocalize the text and read “with you is nobility.”

[110:3]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “in the day of your power.”

[110:3]  ²⁰² tc Heb “in splendor of holiness.” The plural construct form הַדְרֵי (hadrey, from הָדַר, hadar, “splendor”) occurs only here; it may indicate degree or perhaps refer by metonymy to garments (see Pss 29:2 and 96:9, where the phrase הַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ [hadrat qodesh] refers to “holy attire”). If one retains the reading of the MT, this phrase should probably be taken with the preceding line. However, because of the subsequent references to “dawn” and to “dew,” it is better to emend the text to הַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ (harrey qodesh, “mountains of holiness”), a reading found in many medieval Hebrew mss and in some other ancient witnesses (see Joel 2:2; Ps 133:3, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 80). The “mountains of holiness” are probably the hills surrounding Zion (see Ps 87:1; 125:2; 133:3).

[110:3]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “from the womb of dawn.” The Hebrew noun רֶחֶם (rekhem, “womb”) is probably used here metonymically for “birth.” The form מִשְׁחָר (mishkhar) occurs only here and should be emended to שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”) with the mem (מ) being understood as dittographic (note the final mem [ם] on the preceding word). The phrase “womb [i.e., “birth”] of dawn” refers to sunrise.

[110:3]  ²⁰⁴ sn The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. The dew may symbolize the king’s youthful vitality or, more likely (note the parallelism), may refer to his army of strong, youthful warriors.

[110:3]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “to you [is].”

[119:75]  ²⁰⁶ tn In this context (note the second line) the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim), which so often refers to the regulations of God’s law elsewhere in this psalm, may refer instead to his decisions or disciplinary judgment.

[119:75]  ²⁰⁷ tn Heb “and [in] faithfulness you afflicted me.”

[126:2]  ²⁰⁸ tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”

[126:2]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “they said among the nations.”

[139:16]  ²¹⁰ tn Heb “Your eyes saw my shapeless form.” The Hebrew noun גֹּלֶם (golem) occurs only here in the OT. In later Hebrew the word refers to “a lump, a shapeless or lifeless substance,” and to “unfinished matter, a vessel wanting finishing” (Jastrow 222 s.v. גּוֹלֶם). The translation employs the dynamic rendering “when I was inside the womb” to clarify that the speaker was still in his mother’s womb at the time he was “seen” by God.

[139:16]  ²¹¹ tn Heb “and on your scroll all of them were written, [the] days [which] were formed, and [there was] not one among them.” This “scroll” may be the “scroll of life” mentioned in Ps 69:28 (see the note on the word “living” there).

[142:7]  ²¹² tn Heb “bring out my life.”

[142:7]  ²¹³ tn Or “gather around.”

[142:7]  ²¹⁴ tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.

[148:14]  ²¹⁵ 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]  ²¹⁶ 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.