Mazmur 37:23-24

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ¹ 

37:24 Even if ²  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ³ 

for the Lord holds ⁴  his hand.

Mazmur 62:2

62:2 He alone is my protector ⁵  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ⁶  I will not be upended. ⁷ 

Mazmur 62:6

62:6 He alone is my protector ⁸  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ⁹  I will not be upended. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 94:18

94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”

your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.

Mazmur 112:6

112:6 For he will never be upended;

others will always remember one who is just. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 121:3

121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!

May your protector ¹²  not sleep! ¹³ 

Mazmur 125:3

125:3 Indeed, ¹⁴  the scepter of a wicked king ¹⁵  will not settle ¹⁶ 

upon the allotted land of the godly.

Otherwise the godly might

do what is wrong. ¹⁷ 

[37:23]  ¹ tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[37:24]  ² tn Other translation options for כִּי in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[37:24]  ³ tn Heb “be hurled down.”

[37:24]  ⁴ tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.

[62:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ⁶ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[62:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:6]  ⁹ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:6]  ¹⁰ sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.

[112:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”

[121:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the one who guards you.”

[121:3]  ¹³ tn The prefixed verbal forms following the negative particle אל appear to be jussives. As noted above, if they are taken as true jussives of prayer, then the speaker in v. 3 would appear to be distinct from both the speaker in vv. 1-2 and the speaker in vv. 4-8. However, according to GKC 322 §109.e), the jussives are used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one should probably translate, “he will not allow your foot to slip, your protector will not sleep,” and understand just one speaker in vv. 4-8.

[125:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[125:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a scepter of wickedness.” The “scepter” symbolizes royal authority; when collocated with “wickedness” the phrase refers to an oppressive foreign conqueror.

[125:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “rest.”

[125:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “so that the godly might not stretch out their hands in wrongdoing.” A wicked king who sets a sinful example can have an adverse moral and ethical effect on the people he rules.