Mazmur 45:7

45:7 You love ¹  justice and hate evil. ² 

For this reason God, your God ³  has anointed you ⁴ 

with the oil of joy, ⁵  elevating you above your companions. ⁶ 

Mazmur 69:14

69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!

Deliver me ⁷  from those who hate me,

from the deep water!

Mazmur 86:17

86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! ⁸ 

Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, ⁹ 

for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. ¹⁰ 

[45:7]  ¹ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ² sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ³ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁴ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁵ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[45:7]  sn Verses 6-7 are quoted in Heb 1:8-9, where they are applied to Jesus.

[69:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “let me be delivered.”

[86:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

[86:17]  ⁹ tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

[86:17]  ¹⁰ tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).