Mazmur 5:12

5:12 Certainly ¹  you reward ²  the godly, ³  Lord.

Like a shield you protect ⁴  them ⁵  in your good favor. ⁶ 

Mazmur 8:5-6

8:5 and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? ⁷ 

You grant mankind ⁸  honor and majesty; ⁹ 

8:6 you appoint them to rule over your creation; ¹⁰ 

you have placed ¹¹  everything under their authority, ¹² 

Mazmur 18:39

18:39 You give me strength ¹³  for battle;

you make my foes kneel before me. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 31:3

31:3 For you are my high ridge ¹⁵  and my stronghold;

for the sake of your own reputation ¹⁶  you lead me and guide me. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 31:8

31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;

you enable me to stand ¹⁸  in a wide open place.

Mazmur 44:7

44:7 For you deliver ¹⁹  us from our enemies;

you humiliate ²⁰  those who hate us.

Mazmur 44:11

44:11 You handed us ²¹  over like sheep to be eaten;

you scattered us among the nations.

Mazmur 89:12

89:12 You created the north and the south.

Tabor and Hermon ²²  rejoice in your name.

Mazmur 90:8

90:8 You are aware of our sins; ²³ 

you even know about our hidden sins. ²⁴ 

[5:12]  ¹ tn Or “For.”

[5:12]  ² tn Or “bless.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line highlight how God characteristically rewards and protects the godly.

[5:12]  ³ tn Or “innocent.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense.

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “surround.” In 1 Sam 23:26 the verb describes how Saul and his men hemmed David in as they chased him.

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “him.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense and is thus translated “them.”

[5:12]  ⁶ tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.

[8:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and you make him lack a little from [the] gods [or “God”].” The Piel form of חָסַר (khasar, “to decrease, to be devoid”) is used only here and in Eccl 4:8, where it means “to deprive, to cause to be lacking.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive either carries on the characteristic nuance of the imperfect in v. 5b or indicates a consequence (“so that you make him…”) of the preceding statement (see GKC 328 §111.m). Some prefer to make this an independent clause and translate it as a new sentence, “You made him….” In this case the statement might refer specifically to the creation of the first human couple, Adam and Eve (cf. Gen 1:26-27). The psalmist does appear to allude to Gen 1:26-27, where mankind is created in the image of God and his angelic assembly (note “let us make man in our image” in Gen 1:26). However, the psalmist’s statement need not be limited in its focus to that historical event, for all mankind shares the image imparted to the first human couple. Consequently the psalmist can speak in general terms of the exalted nature of mankind. The referent of אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God” or “the heavenly beings”) is unclear. Some understand this as a reference to God alone, but the allusion to Gen 1:26-27 suggests a broader referent, including God and the other heavenly beings (known in other texts as “angels”). The term אֱלֹהִים is also used in this way in Gen 3:5, where the serpent says to the woman, “you will be like the heavenly beings who know good and evil.” (Note Gen 3:22, where God says, “the man has become like one of us.”) Also אֱלֹהִים may refer to the members of the heavenly assembly in Ps 82:1, 6. The LXX (the ancient Greek translation of the OT) reads “angels” in Ps 8:5 (this is the source of the quotation of Ps 8:5 in Heb 2:7).

[8:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “you crown him [with].” The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line describe God’s characteristic activity.

[8:5]  ⁹ sn Honor and majesty. These terms allude to mankind’s royal status as God’s vice-regents (cf. v. 6 and Gen 1:26-30).

[8:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”

[8:6]  ¹¹ tn The perfect verbal form probably has a present perfect nuance here. It refers to the continuing effects of God’s original mandate (see Gen 1:26-30).

[8:6]  ¹² tn Heb “under his feet.”

[8:6]  sn Placed everything under their authority. This verse affirms that mankind rules over God’s creation as his vice-regent. See Gen 1:26-30.

[18:39]  ¹³ tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.

[18:39]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”

[18:39]  sn My foes kneel before me. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 268.

[31:3]  ¹⁵ sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[31:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the Lord’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.)

[31:3]  ¹⁷ tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[31:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”

[44:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[44:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “have humiliated,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[44:11]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[89:12]  ²² sn Tabor and Hermon were two of the most prominent mountains in Palestine.

[90:8]  ²³ tn Heb “you set our sins in front of you.”

[90:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “what we have hidden to the light of your face.” God’s face is compared to a light or lamp that exposes the darkness around it.