Mazmur 94:12

94:12 How blessed is the one ¹  whom you instruct, O Lord,

the one whom you teach from your law,

Mazmur 119:31

119:31 I hold fast ²  to your rules.

O Lord, do not let me be ashamed!

Mazmur 123:1

Psalm 123 ³ 

A song of ascents. ⁴ 

123:1 I look up ⁵  toward you,

the one enthroned ⁶  in heaven.

Mazmur 123:3

123:3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!

For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some. ⁷ 

Mazmur 140:8

140:8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way! ⁸ 

Do not allow their ⁹  plan to succeed when they attack! ¹⁰  (Selah)

Mazmur 144:3

144:3 O Lord, of what importance is the human race, ¹¹  that you should notice them?

Of what importance is mankind, ¹²  that you should be concerned about them? ¹³ 

Mazmur 144:5

144:5 O Lord, make the sky sink ¹⁴  and come down! ¹⁵ 

Touch the mountains and make them smolder! ¹⁶ 

[94:12]  ¹ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm 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 more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in v. 2.

[119:31]  ² tn Or “cling to.”

[123:1]  ³ sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.

[123:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[123:1]  ⁶ 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).

[123:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”

[140:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”

[140:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).

[140:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).

[144:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “What is mankind?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race. See Ps 8:5.

[144:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

[144:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “take account of him.” The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

[144:5]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “to [cause to] bend; to [cause to] bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm. See Ps 18:9.

[144:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “so you might come down.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The same type of construction is utilized in v. 6.

[144:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “so they might smolder.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative.