Mazmur 42:8

42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, ¹ 

and by night he gives me a song, ² 

a prayer ³  to the living God.

Mazmur 44:4

44:4 You are my ⁴  king, O God!

Decree ⁵  Jacob’s ⁶  deliverance!

Mazmur 133:3

133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, ⁷ 

which flows down upon the hills of Zion. ⁸ 

Indeed ⁹  that is where the Lord has decreed

a blessing will be available – eternal life. ¹⁰ 

[42:8]  ¹ sn The psalmist believes that the Lord has not abandoned him, but continues to extend his loyal love. To this point in the psalm, the author has used the name “God,” but now, as he mentions the divine characteristic of loyal love, he switches to the more personal divine name Yahweh (rendered in the translation as “the Lord”).

[42:8]  ² tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”

[42:8]  ³ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) instead of תְּפִלָּה (tÿfillah, “prayer”).

[44:4]  ⁴ sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4]  ⁵ tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4]  tn Or “command.” This may be the Israelites’ petition prior to the battle. See the introductory note to the psalm.

[44:4]  ⁶ tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[133:3]  ⁷ sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.

[133:3]  ⁸ sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

[133:3]  ⁹ tn Or “for.”

[133:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever.”