Mazmur 50:7

50:7 He says: ¹ 

“Listen my people! I am speaking!

Listen Israel! I am accusing you! ² 

I am God, your God!

Mazmur 50:16

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ³ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ⁴ 

Mazmur 81:8

81:8 I said, ⁵  ‘Listen, my people!

I will warn ⁶  you!

O Israel, if only you would obey me! ⁷ 

Mazmur 91:14

91:14 The Lord says, ⁸ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ⁹  because he is loyal to me. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 95:11

95:11 So I made a vow in my anger,

‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’” ¹¹ 

[50:7]  ¹ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

[50:7]  ² tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[50:16]  ³ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[81:8]  ⁵ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the Lord commanded the generation of Israelites that experienced the events described in v. 7. Note the statement in v. 11, “my people did not listen to me.”

[81:8]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “command.”

[81:8]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[91:14]  ⁸ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ⁹ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).

[95:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).