Mazmur 9:3

9:3 When my enemies turn back,

they trip and are defeated ¹  before you.

Mazmur 11:7

11:7 Certainly ²  the Lord is just; ³ 

he rewards godly deeds; ⁴ 

the upright will experience his favor. ⁵ 

Mazmur 17:9

17:9 Protect me from ⁶  the wicked men who attack ⁷  me,

my enemies who crowd around me for the kill. ⁸ 

Mazmur 17:15

17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; ⁹ 

when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 21:12

21:12 For you make them retreat ¹¹ 

when you shoot your arrows at them. ¹² 

Mazmur 24:6

24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,

Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. ¹³  (Selah)

Mazmur 31:16

31:16 Smile ¹⁴  on your servant!

Deliver me because of your faithfulness!

Mazmur 34:5

34:5 Those who look to him for help are happy;

their faces are not ashamed. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 34:16

34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers

and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 35:5

35:5 May they be ¹⁷  like wind-driven chaff,

as the Lord’s angel ¹⁸  attacks them! ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 41:12

41:12 As for me, you uphold ²⁰  me because of my integrity; ²¹ 

you allow ²²  me permanent access to your presence. ²³ 

Mazmur 44:15-16

44:15 All day long I feel humiliated ²⁴ 

and am overwhelmed with shame, ²⁵ 

44:16 before the vindictive enemy

who ridicules and insults me. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 44:24

44:24 Why do you look the other way, ²⁷ 

and ignore ²⁸  the way we are oppressed and mistreated? ²⁹ 

Mazmur 45:12

45:12 Rich people from Tyre ³⁰ 

will seek your favor by bringing a gift. ³¹ 

Mazmur 51:9

51:9 Hide your face ³²  from my sins!

Wipe away ³³  all my guilt!

Mazmur 60:4

60:4 You have given your loyal followers ³⁴  a rallying flag,

so that they might seek safety from the bow. ³⁵  (Selah)

Mazmur 68:3

68:3 But the godly ³⁶  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ³⁷ 

Mazmur 68:7

68:7 O God, when you lead your people into battle, ³⁸ 

when you march through the desert, ³⁹  (Selah)

Mazmur 69:7

69:7 For I suffer ⁴⁰  humiliation for your sake ⁴¹ 

and am thoroughly disgraced. ⁴² 

Mazmur 69:22

69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!

May it be a snare for that group of friends! ⁴³ 

Mazmur 72:5

72:5 People will fear ⁴⁴  you ⁴⁵  as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky,

for generation after generation. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 80:7

80:7 O God, invincible warrior, ⁴⁷  restore us!

Smile on us! ⁴⁸  Then we will be delivered! ⁴⁹ 

Mazmur 80:9

80:9 You cleared the ground for it; ⁵⁰ 

it took root, ⁵¹ 

and filled the land.

Mazmur 80:16

80:16 It is burned ⁵²  and cut down.

They die because you are displeased with them. ⁵³ 

Mazmur 80:19

80:19 O Lord God, invincible warrior, ⁵⁴  restore us!

Smile on us! ⁵⁵  Then we will be delivered! ⁵⁶ 

Mazmur 82:2

82:2 He says, ⁵⁷  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ⁵⁸  (Selah)

Mazmur 83:13

83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, ⁵⁹ 

like dead weeds blown away by ⁶⁰  the wind!

Mazmur 83:16

83:16 Cover ⁶¹  their faces with shame,

so they might seek ⁶²  you, ⁶³  O Lord.

Mazmur 84:9

84:9 O God, take notice of our shield! ⁶⁴ 

Show concern for your chosen king! ⁶⁵ 

Mazmur 85:13

85:13 Deliverance goes ⁶⁶  before him,

and prepares ⁶⁷  a pathway for him. ⁶⁸ 

Mazmur 88:2

88:2 Listen to my prayer! ⁶⁹ 

Pay attention ⁷⁰  to my cry for help!

Mazmur 88:14

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

and pay no attention to me? ⁷¹ 

Mazmur 95:6

95:6 Come! Let’s bow down and worship! ⁷² 

Let’s kneel before the Lord, our creator!

Mazmur 96:9

96:9 Worship the Lord in holy attire! ⁷³ 

Tremble before him, all the earth!

Mazmur 98:6

98:6 With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,

shout out praises before the king, the Lord!

Mazmur 100:2

100:2 Worship ⁷⁴  the Lord with joy!

Enter his presence with joyful singing!

Mazmur 102:10

102:10 because of your anger and raging fury.

Indeed, ⁷⁵  you pick me up and throw me away.

Mazmur 102:25

102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;

the skies are your handiwork.

Mazmur 102:28

102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,

and their descendants ⁷⁶  will live securely in your presence.” ⁷⁷ 

Mazmur 132:10

132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,

do not reject your chosen king! ⁷⁸ 

Mazmur 141:2

141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,

my uplifted hands like the evening offering! ⁷⁹ 

Mazmur 147:17

147:17 He throws his hailstones ⁸⁰  like crumbs.

Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? ⁸¹ 

[9:3]  ¹ tn Or “perish”; or “die.” The imperfect verbal forms in this line either emphasize what typically happens or describe vividly the aftermath of a recent battle in which the Lord defeated the psalmist’s enemies.

[11:7]  ² tn Or “for.”

[11:7]  ³ tn Or “righteous.”

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “he loves righteous deeds.” The “righteous deeds” are probably those done by godly people (see v. 5). The Lord “loves” such deeds in the sense that he rewards them. Another option is to take צְדָקוֹת (tsÿdaqot) as referring to God’s acts of justice (see Ps 103:6). In this case one could translate, “he loves to do just deeds.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “the upright will see his face.” The singular subject (“upright”) does not agree with the plural verb. However, collective singular nouns can be construed with a plural predicate (see GKC 462 §145.b). Another possibility is that the plural verb יֶחֱזוּ (yekhezu) is a corruption of an original singular form. To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 17:15 and Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזָה (khazah), is used]). On the form פָנֵימוֹ (fanemo, “his face”) see GKC 300-301 §103.b, n. 3.

[17:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “from before”; or “because.” In the Hebrew text v. 9 is subordinated to v. 8. The words “protect me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “destroy.” The psalmist uses the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of danger. He describes the wicked as being already in the process of destroying him.

[17:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “my enemies, at the risk of life they surround me.” The Hebrew phrase בְּנֶפֶשׁ (bÿnefesh) sometimes has the nuance “at the risk of [one’s] life” (see 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23; Lam 5:9).

[17:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”

[17:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.

[17:15]  sn When I awake you will reveal yourself to me. Some see in this verse an allusion to resurrection. According to this view, when the psalmist awakens from the sleep of death, he will see God. It is unlikely that the psalmist had such a highly developed personal eschatology. As noted above, it is more likely that he is anticipating a divine visitation and mystical encounter as a prelude to his deliverance from his enemies.

[21:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you make them a shoulder,” i.e., “you make them turn and run, showing the back of their neck and shoulders.”

[21:12]  ¹² tn Heb “with your bowstrings you fix against their faces,” i.e., “you fix your arrows on the bowstrings to shoot at them.”

[24:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 27:8; 105:4).

[24:6]  sn This verse presents a somewhat idealized view of Jacob’s descendants as devoted worshipers of the Lord.

[31:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”

[34:5]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “they look to him and are radiant and their faces are not ashamed.” The third person plural subject (“they”) is unidentified; there is no antecedent in the Hebrew text. For this reason some prefer to take the perfect verbal forms in the first line as imperatives, “look to him and be radiant” (cf. NEB, NRSV). Some medieval Hebrew mss and other ancient witnesses (Aquila, the Syriac, and Jerome) support an imperatival reading for the first verb. In the second line some (with support from the LXX and Syriac) change “their faces” to “your faces,” which allows one to retain more easily the jussive force of the verb (suggested by the preceding אַל [’al]): “do not let your faces be ashamed.” It is probable that the verbal construction in the second line is rhetorical, expressing the conviction that the action in view cannot or should not happen. See GKC 322 §109.e.

[34:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”

[35:5]  ¹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.

[35:5]  ¹⁸ sn See the mention of the Lord’s angel in Ps 34:7.

[35:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “as the Lord’s angel pushes [them].”

[41:12]  ²⁰ tn Or “have upheld.” The perfect verbal form can be taken as generalizing/descriptive (present) or as a present perfect.

[41:12]  ²¹ sn Because of my integrity. See Pss 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11.

[41:12]  ²² tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect. It is either generalizing/descriptive (present) or has a present perfect nuance (“you have allowed”).

[41:12]  ²³ tn Heb “and you cause me to stand before you permanently.”

[44:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “all the day my humiliation [is] in front of me.”

[44:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and the shame of my face covers me.”

[44:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from the voice of one who ridicules and insults, from the face of an enemy and an avenger.” See Ps 8:2.

[44:24]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[44:24]  ²⁸ tn Or “forget.”

[44:24]  ²⁹ tn Heb “our oppression and our affliction.”

[45:12]  ³⁰ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[45:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “and a daughter of Tyre with a gift, your face they will appease, the rich of people.” The phrase “daughter of Tyre” occurs only here in the OT. It could be understood as addressed to the bride, indicating she was a Phoenician (cf. NEB). However, often in the OT the word “daughter,” when collocated with the name of a city or country, is used to personify the referent (see, for example, “Daughter Zion” in Ps 9:14, and “Daughter Babylon” in Ps 137:8). If that is the case here, then “Daughter Tyre” identifies the city-state of Tyre as the place from which the rich people come (cf. NRSV). The idiom “appease the face” refers to seeking one’s favor (see Exod 32:11; 1 Sam 13:12; 1 Kgs 13:6; 2 Kgs 13:4; 2 Chr 33:12; Job 11:19; Ps 119:58; Prov 19:6; Jer 26:19; Dan 9:13; Zech 7:2; 8:21-22; Mal 1:9).

[51:9]  ³² sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”

[51:9]  ³³ tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.

[60:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “those who fear you.”

[60:4]  ³⁵ tn There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” (HALOT 681 s.v. נוס) or “take flight for oneself” (BDB 630-31 s.v. נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” (BDB 651 s.v. II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” (HALOT 704 s.v. II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; BDB 905-6 s.v. קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qosht, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. NASB). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”

[68:3]  ³⁶ tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

[68:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).

[68:7]  ³⁹ sn When you march through the desert. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the desert. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the desert regions to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.

[69:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “carry, bear.”

[69:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “on account of you.”

[69:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”

[69:22]  ⁴³ tc Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the MT is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (ulÿshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. NIV).

[72:5]  ⁴⁴ tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.” See Ps 33:8. Some interpreters, with the support of the LXX, prefer to read וְיַאֲרִיךְ (vÿ’a’arikh, “and he [the king in this case] will prolong [days]”), that is, “will live a long time” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[72:5]  ⁴⁵ tn God is the addressee (see vv. 1-2).

[72:5]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “with [the] sun, and before [the] moon [for] a generation, generations.” The rare expression דּוֹר דּוֹרִים (dor dorim, “generation, generations”) occurs only here, in Ps 102:24, and in Isa 51:8.

[80:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also v. 4 for a similar construction.

[80:7]  ⁴⁸ 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).

[80:7]  ⁴⁹ 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.

[80:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “you cleared away before it.”

[80:9]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and it took root [with] its roots.”

[80:16]  ⁵² tn Heb “burned with fire.”

[80:16]  ⁵³ tn Heb “because of the rebuke of your face they perish.”

[80:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “O Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7, 14 for a similar construction.

[80:19]  ⁵⁵ 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).

[80:19]  ⁵⁶ 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.

[82:2]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).

[82:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[83:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “tumbleweed.” The Hebrew noun גַּלְגַּל (galgal) refers to a “wheel” or, metaphorically, to a whirling wind (see Ps 77:18). If taken in the latter sense here, one could understand the term as a metonymical reference to dust blown by a whirlwind (cf. NRSV “like whirling dust”). However, HALOT 190 s.v. II גַּלְגַּל understands the noun as a homonym referring to a “dead thistle” here and in Isa 17:13. The parallel line, which refers to קַשׁ (qash, “chaff”), favors this interpretation.

[83:13]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “before.”

[83:16]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “fill.”

[83:16]  ⁶² tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose or result (“then they will seek”).

[83:16]  ⁶³ tn Heb “your name,” which stands here for God’s person.

[84:9]  ⁶⁴ tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “your anointed one” here and with “our king” in Ps 89:18.

[84:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “look [on] the face of your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17).

[85:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “will go.”

[85:13]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “will prepare.”

[85:13]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (vÿyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (vÿshalom, “and peace”) since “deliverance” and “peace” are closely related earlier in v. 13. This could be translated, “and peace [goes ahead, making] a pathway for his footsteps” (cf. NEB).

[88:2]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “may my prayer come before you.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s desire or prayer.

[88:2]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[88:14]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “[why] do you hide your face from me?”

[95:6]  ⁷² tn Heb “kneel down.”

[96:9]  ⁷³ tn Or “in holy splendor.”

[100:2]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “serve.”

[102:10]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “for.”

[102:28]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[102:28]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “before you will be established.”

[132:10]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”

[141:2]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

[147:17]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “his ice.”

[147:17]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”