Mazmur 6:7

6:7 My eyes ¹  grow dim ²  from suffering;

they grow weak ³  because of all my enemies. ⁴ 

Mazmur 17:8

17:8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye! ⁵ 

Hide me in the shadow of your wings! ⁶ 

Mazmur 17:11

17:11 They attack me, now they surround me; ⁷ 

they intend to throw me to the ground. ⁸ 

Mazmur 32:8

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ⁹  about how you should live. ¹⁰ 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 33:18

33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, ¹² 

those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness ¹³ 

Mazmur 34:15

34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly

and hears their cry for help. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 35:21

35:21 They are ready to devour me; ¹⁵ 

they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!” ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 36:2

36:2 for he is too proud

to recognize and give up his sin. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 54:7

54:7 Surely ¹⁸  he rescues me from all trouble, ¹⁹ 

and I triumph over my enemies. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 69:23

69:23 May their eyes be blinded! ²¹ 

Make them shake violently! ²² 

Mazmur 72:14

72:14 From harm and violence he will defend them; ²³ 

he will value their lives. ²⁴ 

Mazmur 77:4

77:4 You held my eyelids open; ²⁵ 

I was troubled and could not speak. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 98:2

98:2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver; ²⁷ 

in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.

Mazmur 115:5

115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

Mazmur 118:23

118:23 This is the Lord’s work.

We consider it amazing! ²⁸ 

Mazmur 119:136

119:136 Tears stream down from my eyes, ²⁹ 

because people ³⁰  do not keep your law.

Mazmur 123:1

Psalm 123 ³¹ 

A song of ascents. ³² 

123:1 I look up ³³  toward you,

the one enthroned ³⁴  in heaven.

Mazmur 135:16

135:16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

[6:7]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has the singular “eye” here.

[6:7]  ² tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”

[6:7]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “grow old.”

[6:7]  ⁴ sn In his weakened condition the psalmist is vulnerable to the taunts and threats of his enemies.

[17:8]  ⁵ tc Heb “Protect me like the pupil, a daughter of an eye.” The noun בַּת (bat, “daughter”) should probably be emended to בָּבַת (bavat, “pupil”). See Zech 2:12 HT (2:8 ET) and HALOT 107 s.v. *בָּבָה.

[17:8]  ⁶ sn Your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

[17:11]  ⁷ tc Heb “our steps, now they surround me.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “surround me,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has “surround us,” harmonizing the pronoun to the preceding “our steps.” The first person plural pronoun does not fit the context, where the psalmist speaks as an individual. In the preceding verses the psalmist uses a first person singular verbal or pronominal form twenty times. For this reason it is preferable to emend “our steps” to אִשְּׁרוּנִי (’ishÿruni, “they attack me”) from the verbal root אָשֻׁר (’ashur, “march, stride, track”).

[17:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “their eyes they set to bend down in the ground.”

[32:8]  ⁹ tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[33:18]  ¹² tn Heb “look, the eye of the Lord [is] toward the ones who fear him.” The expression “the eye…[is] toward” here indicates recognition and the bestowing of favor. See Ps 34:15. The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.

[33:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”

[34:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”

[35:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and they cause their mouth to be wide against me.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the generalizing mood of the previous verse. For other examples of this use of the prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive, see GKC 329 §111.t.

[35:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “our eye sees.” Apparently this is an idiom meaning to “look in triumph” or “gloat over” (see Ps 54:7).

[36:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for it causes to be smooth to him in his eyes to find his sin to hate.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Perhaps the point is this: His rebellious attitude makes him reject any notion that God will hold him accountable. His attitude also prevents him from recognizing and repudiating his sinful ways.

[54:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).

[54:7]  ¹⁹ tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.

[54:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”

[69:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”

[69:23]  ²² tn Heb “make their hips shake continually.”

[72:14]  ²³ tn Or “redeem their lives.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Pss 19:14; 69:18).

[72:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their blood will be precious in his eyes.”

[77:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).

[77:4]  ²⁶ tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.

[98:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”

[118:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “it is amazing in our eyes.” The use of the plural pronoun here and in vv. 24-27 suggests that the psalmist may be speaking for the entire nation. However, it is more likely that vv. 22-27 are the people’s response to the psalmist’s thanksgiving song (see especially v. 26). They rejoice with him because his deliverance on the battlefield (see vv. 10-12) had national repercussions.

[119:136]  ²⁹ tn Heb “[with] flowing streams my eyes go down.”

[119:136]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they”; even though somewhat generic, the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[123:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.

[123:1]  ³² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[123:1]  ³³ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[123:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).