Mazmur 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ¹ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ² 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ³ 

Mazmur 31:3

31:3 For you are my high ridge ⁴  and my stronghold;

for the sake of your own reputation ⁵  you lead me and guide me. ⁶ 

Mazmur 43:3

43:3 Reveal ⁷  your light ⁸  and your faithfulness!

They will lead me, ⁹ 

they will escort ¹⁰  me back to your holy hill, ¹¹ 

and to the place where you live. ¹² 

Mazmur 60:9

60:9 Who will lead me into the fortified city?

Who will bring me to Edom? ¹³ 

Mazmur 61:2

61:2 From the most remote place on earth ¹⁴ 

I call out to you in my despair. ¹⁵ 

Lead me ¹⁶  up to an inaccessible rocky summit! ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 67:4

67:4 Let foreigners ¹⁸  rejoice and celebrate!

For you execute justice among the nations,

and govern the people living on earth. ¹⁹  (Selah)

Mazmur 108:10

108:10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?

Who will bring me to Edom? ²⁰ 

Mazmur 143:10

143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, ²¹ 

for you are my God.

May your kind presence ²² 

lead me ²³  into a level land. ²⁴ 

[5:8]  ¹ tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.

[5:8]  ² tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).

[31:3]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).

[43:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “send.”

[43:3]  ⁸ sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.

[43:3]  ⁹ tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.

[43:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “bring.”

[43:3]  ¹¹ sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[43:3]  ¹² tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 46:4; 84:1; 132:5, 7).

[60:9]  ¹³ sn In v. 9 the psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 8, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation (v. 10, see also v. 1).

[61:2]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “while my heart faints.”

[61:2]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[61:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”

[67:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or “peoples.”

[67:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).

[108:10]  ²⁰ sn The psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 9, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation of Israel (v. 11).

[143:10]  ²¹ tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.

[143:10]  ²² tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

[143:10]  ²³ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:10]  ²⁴ sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.