Mazmur 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹ 

you have examined me during the night. ² 

You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ³ 

Mazmur 18:48

18:48 He delivers me ⁴  from my enemies;

you snatch me away ⁵  from those who attack me; ⁶ 

you rescue me from violent men.

Mazmur 18:50

18:50 He ⁷  gives his chosen king magnificent victories; ⁸ 

he is faithful ⁹  to his chosen ruler, ¹⁰ 

to David and his descendants ¹¹  forever.” ¹² 

Mazmur 31:1

Psalm 31 ¹³ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!

Never let me be humiliated!

Vindicate me by rescuing me! ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 31:23

31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers ¹⁵  of his!

The Lord protects those who have integrity,

but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 32:6

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ¹⁷  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ¹⁸ 

Certainly ¹⁹  when the surging water ²⁰  rises,

it will not reach them. ²¹ 

Mazmur 51:4

51:4 Against you – you above all ²²  – I have sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So ²³  you are just when you confront me; ²⁴ 

you are right when you condemn me. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 77:2

77:2 In my time of trouble I sought ²⁶  the Lord.

I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. ²⁷ 

I ²⁸  refused to be comforted.

Mazmur 101:2

101:2 I will walk in ²⁹  the way of integrity.

When will you come to me?

I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 140:4

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ³¹  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ³² 

[17:3]  ¹ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ² tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ³ tc Heb “you tested me, you do not find, I plan, my mouth will not cross over.” The Hebrew verbal form זַמֹּתִי (zammotiy) is a Qal perfect, first person singular from the root זָמַם (zamam, “plan, plan evil”). Some emend the form to a suffixed form of the noun, זִמָּתִי (zimmatiy, “my plan/evil plan”), and take it as the object of the preceding verb “find.” However, the suffix seems odd, since the psalmist is denying that he has any wrong thoughts. If one takes the form with what precedes, it might make better sense to read זִמּוֹת (zimmot, “evil plans”). However, this emendation leaves an unclear connection with the next line. The present translation maintains the verbal form found in the MT and understands it in a neutral sense, “I have decided” (see Jer 4:28). The words “my mouth will not cross over” (i.e., “transgress, sin”) can then be taken as a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb.

[18:48]  ⁴ tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”

[18:48]  ⁵ tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[18:48]  ⁶ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[18:50]  ⁷ tn Or “the one who.”

[18:50]  ⁸ tn Heb “magnifies the victories of his king.” “His king” refers to the psalmist, the Davidic king whom God has chosen to rule Israel.

[18:50]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty.”

[18:50]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his anointed [one],” i.e., the psalmist/Davidic king. See Ps 2:2.

[18:50]  ¹¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[18:50]  ¹² sn If David is the author of the psalm (see the superscription), then he here anticipates that God will continue to demonstrate loyalty to his descendants who succeed him. If the author is a later Davidic king, then he views the divine favor he has experienced as the outworking of God’s faithful promises to David his ancestor.

[31:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.

[31:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”

[31:23]  ¹⁵ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[31:23]  ¹⁶ tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.

[32:6]  ¹⁷ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ²⁰ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.

[51:4]  ²² tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”

[51:4]  ²³ tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.

[51:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).

[51:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “when you judge.”

[77:2]  ²⁶ tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

[77:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

[77:2]  ²⁸ tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[101:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “take notice of.”

[101:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”

[140:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ³² tn Heb “to push down my steps.”