Mazmur 26:1

Psalm 26 ¹ 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, ² 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

Mazmur 43:1-2

Psalm 43 ³ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ⁴  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ⁵  from deceitful and evil men! ⁶ 

43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. ⁷ 

Why do you reject me? ⁸ 

Why must I walk around ⁹  mourning ¹⁰ 

because my enemies oppress me?

Mazmur 99:4

99:4 The king is strong;

he loves justice. ¹¹ 

You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ¹² 

you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

[26:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

[26:1]  ² tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

[43:1]  ³ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ⁴ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ⁵ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[43:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.

[43:2]  ⁸ tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).

[43:2]  ⁹ tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.

[43:2]  ¹⁰ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.

[99:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).

[99:4]  ¹² tn Heb “you establish fairness.”