Mazmur 4:3

4:3 Realize that ¹  the Lord shows the godly special favor; ² 

the Lord responds ³  when I cry out to him.

Mazmur 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes ⁴  justice,

and never abandons ⁵  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ⁶ 

but the children ⁷  of evil men are wiped out. ⁸ 

Mazmur 119:94

119:94 I belong to you. Deliver me!

For I seek your precepts.

[4:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and know that.”

[4:3]  ² tn Heb “that the Lord sets apart a faithful one for himself.” The psalmist states a general principle, though the singular form and the parallel line indicate he has himself in mind as the representative godly person. A חָסִיד (khasid; here translated as “the godly”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[4:3]  ³ tn Heb “hears.”

[37:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.

[37:28]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

[37:28]  ⁶ tn Or “protected forever.”

[37:28]  ⁷ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:28]  ⁸ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.