Mazmur 58:5

58:5 that does not respond to ¹  the magicians,

or to a skilled snake-charmer.

Mazmur 73:1

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ² 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ³ 

and to those whose motives are pure! ⁴ 

Mazmur 74:15

74:15 You broke open the spring and the stream; ⁵ 

you dried up perpetually flowing rivers. ⁶ 

Mazmur 103:5

103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, ⁷ 

so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. ⁸ 

Mazmur 113:9

113:9 He makes the barren woman of the family ⁹ 

a happy mother of children. ¹⁰ 

Praise the Lord!

[58:5]  ¹ tn Heb “does not listen to the voice of.”

[73:1]  ² sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

[73:1]  ³ tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

[73:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[74:15]  ⁵ sn You broke open the spring and the stream. Perhaps this alludes to the way in which God provided water for the Israelites as they traveled in the wilderness following the exodus (see Ps 78:15-16, 20; 105:41).

[74:15]  ⁶ sn Perpetually flowing rivers are rivers that contain water year round, unlike the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season. Perhaps the psalmist here alludes to the drying up of the Jordan River when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan under Joshua (see Josh 3-4).

[103:5]  ⁷ tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

[103:5]  ⁸ sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.

[113:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “of the house.”

[113:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sons.”