Mazmur 7:3

7:3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say, ¹ 

or am guilty of unjust actions, ² 

Mazmur 20:9

20:9 The Lord will deliver the king; ³ 

he will answer us ⁴  when we call to him for help! ⁵ 

Mazmur 71:4

71:4 My God, rescue me from the power ⁶  of the wicked,

from the hand of the cruel oppressor!

Mazmur 80:3

80:3 O God, restore us!

Smile on us! ⁷  Then we will be delivered! ⁸ 

Mazmur 82:8

82:8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth!

For you own ⁹  all the nations.

Mazmur 84:12

84:12 O Lord who rules over all, ¹⁰ 

how blessed are those who trust in you! ¹¹ 

Mazmur 88:14

88:14 O Lord, why do you reject me,

and pay no attention to me? ¹² 

Mazmur 102:12

102:12 But you, O Lord, rule forever, ¹³ 

and your reputation endures. ¹⁴ 

[7:3]  ¹ tn Heb “if I have done this.”

[7:3]  ² tn Heb “if there is injustice in my hands.” The “hands” figuratively suggest deeds or actions.

[20:9]  ³ tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi’ah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O Lord, deliver”). But the immediate context is one of confidence (vv. 6-8), not petition (vv. 1-5). If one takes the final he on the verb “deliver” as dittographic (note the initial he (ה) on the following phrase, “the king”), one can repoint the verbal form as a perfect and understand it as expressing the people’s confidence, “the Lord will deliver the king” (see v. 6). The Hebrew scribal tradition takes “the king” with the following line, in which case it would be best interpreted as a divine title, “may the King answer us” or “the king will answer us” (see Pss 98:6; 145:1). However, the poetic parallelism is better balanced if “the king” is taken with the first line. In this case the referent is the Davidic king, who is earlier called the Lord’s “anointed one” (cf. note on “chosen king” in v. 6; see Pss 21:7; 45:5, 11; 63:11).

[20:9]  ⁴ tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).

[20:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the day we call.”

[71:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[80:3]  ⁷ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[82:8]  ⁹ tn The translation assumes that the Qal of נָחַל (nakhal) here means “to own; to possess,” and that the imperfect emphasizes a general truth. Another option is to translate the verb as future, “for you will take possession of all the nations” (cf. NIV “all the nations are your inheritance”).

[84:12]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”

[84:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

[88:14]  ¹² tn Heb “[why] do you hide your face from me?”

[102:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.

[102:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”