Mazmur 4:6

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

Mazmur 14:3

14:3 Everyone rejects God; ² 

they are all morally corrupt. ³ 

None of them does what is right, ⁴ 

not even one!

Mazmur 21:3

21:3 For you bring him ⁵  rich ⁶  blessings; ⁷ 

you place a golden crown on his head.

Mazmur 23:6

23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness ⁸  will pursue ⁹  me all my days, ¹⁰ 

and I will live in ¹¹  the Lord’s house ¹²  for the rest of my life. ¹³ 

Mazmur 34:8

34:8 Taste ¹⁴  and see that the Lord is good!

How blessed ¹⁵  is the one ¹⁶  who takes shelter in him! ¹⁷ 

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 34:12

34:12 Do you want to really live? ¹⁸ 

Would you love to live a long, happy life? ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 38:20

38:20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;

though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 52:9

52:9 I will continually ²¹  thank you when ²²  you execute judgment; ²³ 

I will rely ²⁴  on you, ²⁵  for your loyal followers know you are good. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 53:3

53:3 Everyone rejects God; ²⁷ 

they are all morally corrupt. ²⁸ 

None of them does what is right, ²⁹ 

not even one!

Mazmur 54:6

54:6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice ³⁰  to you!

I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good!

Mazmur 69:16

69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! ³¹ 

Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

Mazmur 73:28

73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. ³² 

I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,

as ³³  I declare all the things you have done.

Mazmur 86:5

86:5 Certainly ³⁴  O Lord, you are kind ³⁵  and forgiving,

and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.

Mazmur 92:1

Psalm 92 ³⁶ 

A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.

92:1 It is fitting ³⁷  to thank the Lord,

and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One! ³⁸ 

Mazmur 100:5

100:5 For the Lord is good.

His loyal love endures, ³⁹ 

and he is faithful through all generations. ⁴⁰ 

Mazmur 109:21

109:21 O sovereign Lord,

intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! ⁴¹ 

Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!

Mazmur 111:10

111:10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; ⁴² 

all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. ⁴³ 

He will receive praise forever. ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 133:1

Psalm 133 ⁴⁵ 

A song of ascents, ⁴⁶  by David.

133:1 Look! How good and how pleasant it is

when brothers live together! ⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 135:3

135:3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!

Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant! ⁴⁸ 

Mazmur 147:1

Psalm 147 ⁴⁹ 

147:1 Praise the Lord,

for it is good to sing praises to our God!

Yes, ⁵⁰  praise is pleasant and appropriate!

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[4:6]  sn Smile upon us. Though many are discouraged, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and transform the situation.

[14:3]  ² tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”

[14:3]  ³ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[14:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[21:3]  ⁵ tn Or “meet him [with].”

[21:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “good.”

[21:3]  ⁷ sn You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God’s “blessings” include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).

[23:6]  ⁸ tn The noun חֶסֶד (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”

[23:6]  ⁹ tn The use of רָדַף (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with טוֹב וָחֶסֶד (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb רָדַף (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.

[23:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the days of my life.”

[23:6]  ¹¹ tn The verb form וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the Lord.” The term שׁוּב (shuv) appears only here with the following phrase בְּבֵית (bÿvet). The form should be emended to וְשִׁבְתִּי (vÿshivtiy; an infinitive construct from יָשַׁב, yashav, “live”) with pronominal suffix) or to וְיָשַׁבְתִּי (vÿyashavtiy; a Qal perfect with vav [ו] consecutive, first common singular, from ישׁב [see BHS, note c]). In either case one could then translate, “and I will live [in the house of the Lord].” The phrase “in the house” frequently follows the verb יָשַׁב in the OT.

[23:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the house of the Lord.” The phrase may be purely metaphorical here, referring to the royal palace where the royal host of v. 5 holds his banquet and lives. If one takes the phrase more literally, it would refer to the earthly tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the later temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[23:6]  ¹³ tn The phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the Lord’s blessings and should not be taken literally.

[34:8]  ¹⁴ tn This verb is normally used of tasting or savoring food. The metaphor here appears to compare the Lord to a tasty meal.

[34:8]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[34:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.”

[34:8]  ¹⁷ tn “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 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[34:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.

[34:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”

[38:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”

[52:9]  ²¹ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ²² tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

[53:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “all of it turns away.” Ps 14:1 has הָכֹּל (hakkol) instead of כֻּלּוֹ, and סָר (sar, “turn aside”) instead of סָג (sag, “turn away”).

[53:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[53:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[54:6]  ³⁰ tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve/vow to praise.

[69:16]  ³¹ tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”

[73:28]  ³² tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”

[73:28]  ³³ tn The infinitive construct with -לְ (lÿ) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).

[86:5]  ³⁴ tn Or “for.”

[86:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “good.”

[92:1]  ³⁶ sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.

[92:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “good.”

[92:1]  ³⁸ tn Traditionally “O Most High.”

[100:5]  ³⁹ tn Or “is forever.”

[100:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and to a generation and a generation [is] his faithfulness.”

[109:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “but you, Lord, Master, do with me for the sake of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[111:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “the beginning of wisdom [is] the fear of the Lord.”

[111:10]  ⁴³ tn Heb “good sense [is] to all who do them.” The third masculine plural pronominal suffix must refer back to the “precepts” mentioned in v. 7. In the translation the referent has been specified for clarity. The phrase שֵׂכֶל טוֹב (shekhel tov) also occurs in Prov 3:4; 13:15 and 2 Chr 30:22.

[111:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”

[133:1]  ⁴⁵ sn Psalm 133. The psalmist affirms the benefits of family unity.

[133:1]  ⁴⁶ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[133:1]  ⁴⁷ sn This statement refers to the extended family structure of ancient Israel, where brothers would often live in proximity to one another (Deut 25:5), giving the family greater social prominence and security. However, in its later application in the Israelite cult it probably envisions unity within the covenant community. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 212-15.

[135:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “for [it is] pleasant.” The translation assumes that it is the Lord’s “name” that is pleasant. Another option is to understand the referent of “it” as the act of praising (see Ps 147:1).

[147:1]  ⁴⁹ sn Psalm 147. The psalmist praises the Lord for he is the sovereign ruler of the world who cares for the needs of his covenant people.

[147:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “for.”