Mazmur 89:37

89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon, ¹ 

his throne will endure like the skies.” ²  (Selah)

Mazmur 119:16

119:16 I find delight ³  in your statutes;

I do not forget your instructions. ⁴ 

Mazmur 119:26

119:26 I told you about my ways ⁵  and you answered me.

Teach me your statutes!

Mazmur 119:83

119:83 For ⁶  I am like a wineskin ⁷  dried up in smoke. ⁸ 

I do not forget your statutes.

Mazmur 119:117

119:117 Support me, so that I will be delivered.

Then I will focus ⁹  on your statutes continually.

Mazmur 119:124

119:124 Show your servant your loyal love! ¹⁰ 

Teach me your statutes!

Mazmur 119:135

119:135 Smile ¹¹  on your servant!

Teach me your statutes!

Mazmur 119:155

119:155 The wicked have no chance for deliverance, ¹² 

for they do not seek your statutes.

[89:37]  ¹ tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”

[89:37]  ² tn Heb “and a witness in the sky, secure.” Scholars have offered a variety of opinions as to the identity of the “witness” referred to here, none of which is very convincing. It is preferable to join וְעֵד (vÿ’ed) to עוֹלָם (’olam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisse’, “throne”) and ’d (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”) – bet/kaf (כ/ב) confusion is widely attested – one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, shÿkhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.

[119:16]  ³ tn The imperfects in this verse emphasize the attitude the psalmist maintains toward God’s law. Another option is to translate with the future tense, “I will find delight…I will not forget.”

[119:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural here.

[119:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “my ways I proclaimed.”

[119:83]  ⁶ tn Or “even though.”

[119:83]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20).

[119:83]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the smoke.”

[119:117]  ⁹ tn Or “and that I might focus.” The two cohortatives with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the imperative at the beginning of the verse.

[119:124]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “do with your servant according to your loyal love.”

[119:135]  ¹¹ tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”

[119:155]  ¹² tn Heb “far from the wicked [is] deliverance.”