Mazmur 4:7

4:7 You make me happier ¹ 

than those who have abundant grain and wine. ² 

Mazmur 9:9

9:9 Consequently ³  the Lord provides safety for the oppressed; ⁴ 

he provides safety in times of trouble. ⁵ 

Mazmur 10:1

Psalm 10 ⁶ 

10:1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble? ⁷ 

Mazmur 31:15

31:15 You determine my destiny! ⁸ 

Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.

Mazmur 37:19

37:19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come; ⁹ 

when famine comes they will have enough to eat. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 71:9

71:9 Do not reject me in my old age! ¹¹ 

When my strength fails, do not abandon me!

Mazmur 81:15

81:15 (May those who hate the Lord ¹²  cower in fear ¹³  before him!

May they be permanently humiliated!) ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 105:19

105:19 until the time when his prediction ¹⁵  came true.

The Lord’s word ¹⁶  proved him right. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 106:3

106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,

and do what is right all the time!

Mazmur 119:20

119:20 I desperately long to know ¹⁸ 

your regulations at all times.

[4:7]  ¹ tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”

[4:7]  ² tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[9:9]  ³ tn Following the imperfect in v. 9, the construction vav (ו) conjunctive + shortened form of the prefixed verb הָיָה (hayah) indicates a consequence or result of the preceding statement. The construction functions this same way in Pss 81:15 and 104:20.

[9:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the Lord is an elevated place for the oppressed.” The singular form דָּךְ (dakh, “oppressed”) is collective here.

[9:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “[he is] an elevated place for times in trouble.” Here an “elevated place” refers to a stronghold, a defensible, secure position that represents a safe haven in times of unrest or distress (cf. NEB “tower of strength”; NIV, NRSV “stronghold”).

[10:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 10. Many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version (LXX) combine Psalms 9 and 10 into a single psalm. Taken in isolation, Psalm 10 is a petition for help in which the psalmist urges the Lord to deliver him from his dangerous enemies, whom he describes in vivid and terrifying detail. The psalmist concludes with confidence; he is certain that God’s justice will prevail.

[10:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “you hide for times in trouble.” The interrogative “why” is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The Hiphil verbal form “hide” has no expressed object. Some supply “your eyes” by ellipsis (see BDB 761 s.v. I עָלַם Hiph and HALOT 835 s.v. I עלם hif) or emend the form to a Niphal (“you hide yourself,” see BHS, note c; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[31:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”

[37:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “in a time of trouble.”

[37:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in days of famine they will be satisfied.”

[71:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do not cast me away at the time of old age.”

[81:15]  ¹² tn “Those who hate the Lord” are also mentioned in 2 Chr 19:2 and Ps 139:21.

[81:15]  ¹³ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.

[81:15]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the Lord. Some propose an emendation to בַּעֲתָתָם (ba’atatam) or בִּעֻתָם (bi’utam; “their terror”; i.e., “may their terror last forever”), but the omission of bet (ב) in the present Hebrew text is difficult to explain, making the proposed emendation unlikely.

[81:15]  tn The verb form at the beginning of the line is jussive, indicating that this is a prayer. The translation assumes that v. 15 is a parenthetical “curse” offered by the psalmist. Having heard the reference to Israel’s enemies (v. 14), the psalmist inserts this prayer, reminding the Lord that they are God’s enemies as well.

[105:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).

[105:19]  ¹⁶ tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).

[105:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “refined him.”

[119:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my soul languishes for longing for.”