Mazmur 3:1-8
KonteksA psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. 2
3:1 Lord, how 3 numerous are my enemies!
Many attack me. 4
3:2 Many say about me,
“God will not deliver him.” 5 (Selah) 6
3:3 But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me; 7
you are my glory 8 and the one who restores me. 9
3:4 To the Lord I cried out, 10
and he answered me from his holy hill. 11 (Selah)
3:5 I rested and slept;
I awoke, 12 for the Lord protects 13 me.
3:6 I am not afraid 14 of the multitude of people 15
who attack me from all directions. 16
Deliver me, my God!
Yes, 18 you will strike 19 all my enemies on the jaw;
you will break the teeth 20 of the wicked. 21
you show favor to your people. 23 (Selah)
Mazmur 5:1--7:17
KonteksFor the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; 25 a psalm of David.
5:1 Listen to what I say, 26 Lord!
Carefully consider my complaint! 27
5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,
my king and my God,
for I am praying to you!
5:3 Lord, in the morning 28 you will hear 29 me; 30
in the morning I will present my case to you 31 and then wait expectantly for an answer. 32
5:4 Certainly 33 you are not a God who approves of evil; 34
evil people 35 cannot dwell with you. 36
5:5 Arrogant people cannot stand in your presence; 37
you hate 38 all who behave wickedly. 39
the Lord despises 42 violent and deceitful people. 43
5:7 But as for me, 44 because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house; 45
I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you. 46
5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness 47
because of those who wait to ambush me, 48
remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! 49
5:9 For 50 they do not speak the truth; 51
their stomachs are like the place of destruction, 52
their throats like an open grave, 53
their tongues like a steep slope leading into it. 54
May their own schemes be their downfall! 56
Drive them away 57 because of their many acts of insurrection, 58
for they have rebelled against you.
5:11 But may all who take shelter 59 in you be happy! 60
May they continually 61 shout for joy! 62
Shelter them 63 so that those who are loyal to you 64 may rejoice! 65
5:12 Certainly 66 you reward 67 the godly, 68 Lord.
Like a shield you protect 69 them 70 in your good favor. 71
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; 73 a psalm of David.
6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!
Do not discipline me in your raging fury! 74
6:2 Have mercy on me, 75 Lord, for I am frail!
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! 76
6:3 I am absolutely terrified, 77
and you, Lord – how long will this continue? 78
6:4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! 79
Deliver me because of your faithfulness! 80
6:5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death, 81
In Sheol who gives you thanks? 82
6:6 I am exhausted as I groan;
all night long I drench my bed in tears; 83
my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. 84
6:7 My eyes 85 grow dim 86 from suffering;
they grow weak 87 because of all my enemies. 88
6:8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, 89
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping! 90
6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;
the Lord has accepted 91 my prayer.
6:10 May all my enemies be humiliated 92 and absolutely terrified! 93
May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!
A musical composition 95 by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning 96 a Benjaminite named Cush. 97
7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. 98
Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!
7:2 Otherwise they will rip 99 me 100 to shreds like a lion;
they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. 101
7:3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say, 102
or am guilty of unjust actions, 103
7:4 or have wronged my ally, 104
or helped his lawless enemy, 105
7:5 may an enemy relentlessly chase 106 me 107 and catch me; 108
may he trample me to death 109
and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. 110 (Selah)
7:6 Stand up angrily, 111 Lord!
Rise up with raging fury against my enemies! 112
Wake up for my sake and execute the judgment you have decreed for them! 113
7:7 The countries are assembled all around you; 114
take once more your rightful place over them! 115
7:8 The Lord judges the nations. 116
Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, 117
because I am blameless, 118 O Exalted One! 119
7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked 120 come to an end! 121
But make the innocent 122 secure, 123
O righteous God,
you who examine 124 inner thoughts and motives! 125
7:10 The Exalted God is my shield, 126
the one who delivers the morally upright. 127
7:11 God is a just judge;
he is angry throughout the day. 128
7:12 If a person 129 does not repent, God sharpens his sword 130
and prepares to shoot his bow. 131
7:13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; 132
he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows. 133
7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies – 134
and then falls into the hole he has made. 136
7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans 137
and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. 138
7:17 I will thank the Lord for 139 his justice;
I will sing praises to the sovereign Lord! 140
Mazmur 13:1-6
KonteksFor the music director; a psalm of David.
13:1 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? 142
How long will you pay no attention to me? 143
13:2 How long must I worry, 144
and suffer in broad daylight? 145
How long will my enemy gloat over me? 146
13:3 Look at me! 147 Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me, 148 or else I will die! 149
13:4 Then 150 my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”
Then 151 my foes will rejoice because I am upended.
13:5 But I 152 trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance! 153
13:6 I will sing praises 154 to the Lord
when he vindicates me. 155
Mazmur 17:1-15
KonteksA prayer of David.
17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! 157
Pay attention to my cry for help!
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer! 158
17:2 Make a just decision on my behalf! 159
Decide what is right! 160
17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; 161
you have examined me during the night. 162
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful. 163
17:4 As for the actions of people 164 –
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men. 165
17:5 I carefully obey your commands; 166
I do not deviate from them. 167
17:6 I call to you for you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me! 168
Hear what I say! 169
17:7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds, 170
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies. 171
17:8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye! 172
Hide me in the shadow of your wings! 173
17:9 Protect me from 174 the wicked men who attack 175 me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill. 176
they speak arrogantly. 178
17:11 They attack me, now they surround me; 179
they intend to throw me to the ground. 180
17:12 He 181 is like a lion 182 that wants to tear its prey to bits, 183
like a young lion crouching 184 in hidden places.
17:13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him! 185 Knock him down! 186
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! 187
17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, 188
from the murderers of this world! 189
They enjoy prosperity; 190
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. 191
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring. 192
17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; 193
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. 194
Mazmur 22:1-31
KonteksFor the music director; according to the tune “Morning Doe;” 196 a psalm of David.
22:1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? 197
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away. 198
22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up. 199
22:3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel. 200
22:4 In you our ancestors 201 trusted;
they trusted in you 202 and you rescued them.
22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed. 203
22:6 But I 204 am a worm, 205 not a man; 206
people insult me and despise me. 207
22:7 All who see me taunt 208 me;
they mock me 209 and shake their heads. 210
“Commit yourself 212 to the Lord!
Let the Lord 213 rescue him!
Let the Lord 214 deliver him, for he delights in him.” 215
22:9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out 216 from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
22:10 I have been dependent on you since birth; 217
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God. 218
22:11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me. 219
22:12 Many bulls 220 surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan 221 hem me in.
22:13 They 222 open their mouths to devour me 223
like a roaring lion that rips its prey. 224
22:14 My strength drains away like water; 225
all my bones are dislocated;
my heart 226 is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
22:15 The roof of my mouth 227 is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums. 228
You 229 set me in the dust of death. 230
22:16 Yes, 231 wild dogs surround me –
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet. 232
22:17 I can count 233 all my bones;
my enemies 234 are gloating over me in triumph. 235
22:18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice 236 for my garments.
22:19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away!
You are my source of strength! 237 Hurry and help me! 238
22:20 Deliver me 239 from the sword!
Save 240 my life 241 from the claws 242 of the wild dogs!
22:21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion, 243
and from the horns of the wild oxen! 244
You have answered me! 245
22:22 I will declare your name to my countrymen! 246
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you!
22:23 You loyal followers of the Lord, 247 praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him! 248
22:24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering 249 of the oppressed; 250
he did not ignore him; 251
when he cried out to him, he responded. 252
22:25 You are the reason I offer praise 253 in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. 254
22:26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled! 255
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord!
May you 256 live forever!
22:27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him! 257
Let all the nations 258 worship you! 259
22:28 For the Lord is king 260
and rules over the nations.
22:29 All of the thriving people 261 of the earth will join the celebration and worship; 262
all those who are descending into the grave 263 will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives. 264
22:30 A whole generation 265 will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the sovereign Lord. 266
22:31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds; 267
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished. 268
Mazmur 25:1--26:12
KonteksBy David.
25:1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer. 270
25:2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!
25:3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted 271 and humiliated.
25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!
Teach me your paths! 272
25:5 Guide me into your truth 273 and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
25:6 Remember 274 your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner. 275
25:7 Do not hold against me 276 the sins of my youth 277 or my rebellious acts!
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord! 278
25:8 The Lord is both kind and fair; 279
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. 280
25:9 May he show 281 the humble what is right! 282
May he teach 283 the humble his way!
25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable 284
to those who follow the demands of his covenant. 285
25:11 For the sake of your reputation, 286 O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great. 287
25:12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live. 288
25:13 They experience his favor; 289
their descendants 290 inherit the land. 291
25:14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, 292
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. 293
25:15 I continually look to the Lord for help, 294
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net. 295
25:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone 296 and oppressed!
25:17 Deliver me from my distress; 297
rescue me from my suffering! 298
25:18 See my pain and suffering!
Forgive all my sins! 299
25:19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me. 300
25:20 Protect me 301 and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you!
25:21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you!
25:22 O God, rescue 302 Israel
from all their distress! 303
By David.
26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity, 305
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me!
Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives! 306
26:3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, 307
and your loyalty continually motivates me. 308
26:4 I do not associate 309 with deceitful men,
or consort 310 with those who are dishonest. 311
26:5 I hate the mob 312 of evil men,
and do not associate 313 with the wicked.
26:6 I maintain a pure lifestyle, 314
so I can appear before your altar, 315 O Lord,
and to tell about all your amazing deeds. 317
26:8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live, 318
the place where your splendor is revealed. 319
26:9 Do not sweep me away 320 with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people, 321
26:10 who are always ready to do wrong 322
or offer a bribe. 323
26:11 But I have integrity! 324
Rescue me 325 and have mercy on me!
and among the worshipers I will praise the Lord.
Mazmur 28:1-9
KonteksBy David.
28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!
My protector, 328 do not ignore me! 329
If you do not respond to me, 330
I will join 331 those who are descending into the grave. 332
28:2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,
when I lift my hands 333 toward your holy temple! 334
28:3 Do not drag me away with evil men,
with those who behave wickedly, 335
who talk so friendly to their neighbors, 336
while they plan to harm them! 337
28:4 Pay them back for their evil deeds!
Pay them back for what they do!
Punish them! 338
28:5 For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,
or the way he carries out justice. 339
The Lord 340 will permanently demolish them. 341
28:6 The Lord deserves praise, 342
for he has heard my plea for mercy! 343
28:7 The Lord strengthens and protects me; 344
I trust in him with all my heart. 345
I am rescued 346 and my heart is full of joy; 347
I will sing to him in gratitude. 348
28:8 The Lord strengthens his people; 349
he protects and delivers his chosen king. 350
28:9 Deliver your people!
Empower 351 the nation that belongs to you! 352
Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms 353 at all times! 354
Mazmur 31:1-24
KonteksFor 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! 356
Quickly deliver me!
Be my protector and refuge, 358
a stronghold where I can be safe! 359
31:3 For you are my high ridge 360 and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation 361 you lead me and guide me. 362
31:4 You will free me 363 from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
31:5 Into your hand I entrust my life; 364
you will rescue 365 me, O Lord, the faithful God.
31:6 I hate those who serve worthless idols, 366
but I trust in the Lord.
31:7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am. 367
31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand 368 in a wide open place.
31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim 369 from suffering. 370
I have lost my strength. 371
31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan. 372
My strength fails me because of 373 my sin,
and my bones become brittle. 374
31:11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me; 375
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering 376 –
those who know me are horrified by my condition; 377
those who see me in the street run away from me.
31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; 378
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. 379
31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, 380
the terrifying news that comes from every direction. 381
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
31:15 You determine my destiny! 382
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
31:16 Smile 383 on your servant!
Deliver me because of your faithfulness!
31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you!
May evil men be humiliated!
May they go wailing to the grave! 384
31:18 May lying lips be silenced –
lips 385 that speak defiantly against the innocent 386
with arrogance and contempt!
31:19 How great is your favor, 387
which you store up for your loyal followers! 388
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter 389 in you. 390
31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks 391 of men; 392
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. 393
31:21 The Lord deserves praise 394
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies. 395
31:22 I jumped to conclusions and said, 396
“I am cut off from your presence!” 397
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers 398 of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. 399
31:24 Be strong and confident, 400
all you who wait on the Lord!
Mazmur 35:1-28
KonteksBy David.
35:1 O Lord, fight 402 those who fight with me!
Attack those who attack me!
35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield, 403
and rise up to help me!
35:3 Use your spear and lance 404 against 405 those who chase me!
Assure me with these words: 406 “I am your deliverer!”
35:4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated!
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed! 407
35:5 May they be 408 like wind-driven chaff,
as the Lord’s angel 409 attacks them! 410
35:6 May their path be 411 dark and slippery,
as the Lord’s angel chases them!
35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me. 412
35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! 413
Let the net they hid catch them!
Let them fall into destruction! 414
35:9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance. 415
35:10 With all my strength I will say, 416
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue 417 the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; 418
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” 419
35:11 Violent men perjure themselves, 420
and falsely accuse me. 421
35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done; 422
I am overwhelmed with sorrow. 423
35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, 424
and refrained from eating food. 425
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) 426
35:14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother. 427
I bowed down 428 in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother. 429
35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me. 430
They tore at me without stopping to rest. 431
35:16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly, 432
and tried to bite me. 433
35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? 434
Rescue 435 me 436 from their destructive attacks;
guard my life 437 from the young lions!
35:18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly; 438
I will praise you before a large crowd of people! 439
35:19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason 440 gloat 441 over me!
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes! 442
35:20 For they do not try to make peace with others, 443
but plan ways to deceive those who are unsuspecting. 444
35:21 They are ready to devour me; 445
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!” 446
35:22 But you take notice, 447 Lord!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me!
35:23 Rouse yourself, wake up 448 and vindicate me! 449
My God and Lord, defend my just cause! 450
35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!
Do not let them gloat 451 over me!
35:25 Do not let them say to themselves, 452 “Aha! We have what we wanted!” 453
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him!”
35:26 May those who want to harm me be totally embarrassed and ashamed! 454
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation! 455
35:27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice!
May they continually say, 456 “May the Lord be praised, 457 for he wants his servant to be secure.” 458
35:28 Then I will tell others about your justice, 459
and praise you all day long. 460
Mazmur 38:1-22
KonteksA psalm of David, written to get God’s attention. 462
38:1 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury! 463
38:2 For your arrows pierce 464 me,
and your hand presses me down. 465
38:3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment; 466
I am deprived of health because of my sin. 467
38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; 468
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
38:5 My wounds 469 are infected and starting to smell, 470
because of my foolish sins. 471
38:6 I am dazed 472 and completely humiliated; 473
all day long I walk around mourning.
38:7 For I am overcome with shame 474
and my whole body is sick. 475
38:8 I am numb with pain and severely battered; 476
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel. 477
38:9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire; 478
my groaning is not hidden from you.
38:10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me;
I can hardly see. 479
38:11 Because of my condition, 480 even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance; 481
my neighbors stand far away. 482
38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; 483
those who want to harm me speak destructive words;
all day long they say deceitful things.
38:13 But I am like a deaf man – I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak. 484
38:14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense. 485
38:15 Yet 486 I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
38:16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; 487
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me. 488
38:17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain. 489
38:18 Yes, 490 I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; 491
those who hate me without cause outnumber me. 492
38:20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me. 493
38:21 Do not abandon me, O Lord!
My God, do not remain far away from me!
38:22 Hurry and help me, 494 O Lord, my deliverer!
Mazmur 42:1--43:5
KonteksBook 2
(Psalms 42-72)
For the music director; a well-written song 496 by the Korahites.
42:1 As a deer 497 longs 498 for streams of water,
so I long 499 for you, O God!
for the living God.
I say, 501 “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” 502
42:3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night; 503
all day long they say to me, 504 “Where is your God?”
42:4 I will remember and weep! 505
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival. 506
42:5 Why are you depressed, 507 O my soul? 508
Why are you upset? 509
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 510
so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, 512
from Hermon, 513 from Mount Mizar. 514
42:7 One deep stream calls out to another 515 at the sound of your waterfalls; 516
all your billows and waves overwhelm me. 517
42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, 518
and by night he gives me a song, 519
a prayer 520 to the living God.
42:9 I will pray 521 to God, my high ridge: 522
“Why do you ignore 523 me?
Why must I walk around mourning 524
because my enemies oppress me?”
42:10 My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone, 525
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 526
42:11 Why are you depressed, 527 O my soul? 528
Why are you upset? 529
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 530
43:1 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me 532 against an ungodly nation!
Deliver me 533 from deceitful and evil men! 534
43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. 535
Why do you reject me? 536
Why must I walk around 537 mourning 538
because my enemies oppress me?
43:3 Reveal 539 your light 540 and your faithfulness!
They will lead me, 541
they will escort 542 me back to your holy hill, 543
and to the place where you live. 544
43:4 Then I will go 545 to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, 546
so that I express my thanks to you, 547 O God, my God, with a harp.
43:5 Why are you depressed, 548 O my soul? 549
Why are you upset? 550
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 551
Mazmur 51:1-19
KonteksFor the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba. 553
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of 554 your loyal love!
Because of 555 your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! 556
51:2 Wash away my wrongdoing! 557
Cleanse me of my sin! 558
51:3 For I am aware of 559 my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin. 560
51:4 Against you – you above all 561 – I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So 562 you are just when you confront me; 563
you are right when you condemn me. 564
51:5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,
a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. 565
51:6 Look, 566 you desire 567 integrity in the inner man; 568
you want me to possess wisdom. 569
51:7 Sprinkle me 570 with water 571 and I will be pure; 572
wash me 573 and I will be whiter than snow. 574
51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! 575
May the bones 576 you crushed rejoice! 577
51:9 Hide your face 578 from my sins!
Wipe away 579 all my guilt!
51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! 580
Renew a resolute spirit within me! 581
Do not take your Holy Spirit 583 away from me! 584
51:12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! 585
51:13 Then I will teach 586 rebels your merciful ways, 587
and sinners will turn 588 to you.
51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, 589 O God, the God who delivers me!
Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. 590
51:15 O Lord, give me the words! 591
Then my mouth will praise you. 592
51:16 Certainly 593 you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; 594
you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. 595
51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit 596 –
O God, a humble and repentant heart 597 you will not reject. 598
51:18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! 599
Fortify 600 the walls of Jerusalem! 601
51:19 Then you will accept 602 the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings;
then bulls will be sacrificed 603 on your altar. 604
Mazmur 54:1--57:11
KonteksFor the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song 606 by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.” 607
54:1 O God, deliver me by your name! 608
Vindicate me 609 by your power!
54:2 O God, listen to my prayer!
Pay attention to what I say! 610
54:3 For foreigners 611 attack me; 612
ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. 613 (Selah)
54:4 Look, God is my deliverer! 614
The Lord is among those who support me. 615
54:5 May those who wait to ambush me 616 be repaid for their evil! 617
As a demonstration of your faithfulness, 618 destroy them!
54:6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice 619 to you!
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good!
54:7 Surely 620 he rescues me from all trouble, 621
and I triumph over my enemies. 622
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song 624 by David.
55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!
Do not ignore 625 my appeal for mercy!
55:2 Pay attention to me and answer me!
I am so upset 626 and distressed, 627 I am beside myself, 628
55:3 because of what the enemy says, 629
and because of how the wicked 630 pressure me, 631
for they hurl trouble 632 down upon me 633
and angrily attack me.
55:4 My heart beats violently 634 within me;
the horrors of death overcome me. 635
55:5 Fear and panic overpower me; 636
terror overwhelms 637 me.
55:6 I say, 638 “I wish I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and settle in a safe place!
55:7 Look, I will escape to a distant place;
I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
55:8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe
from the strong wind 639 and the gale.”
55:9 Confuse them, 640 O Lord!
Frustrate their plans! 641
For I see violence and conflict in the city.
55:10 Day and night they walk around on its walls, 642
while wickedness and destruction 643 are within it.
55:11 Disaster is within it;
violence 644 and deceit do not depart from its public square.
55:12 Indeed, 645 it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, 646
or else I could hide from him.
55:13 But it is you, 647 a man like me, 648
my close friend in whom I confided. 649
55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; 650
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
55:15 May death destroy them! 651
May they go down alive into Sheol! 652
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.
55:16 As for me, I will call out to God,
and the Lord will deliver me.
55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime
I will lament and moan, 653
55:18 He will rescue 656 me and protect me from those who attack me, 657
even though 658 they greatly outnumber me. 659
55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,
will hear and humiliate them. 660 (Selah)
They refuse to change,
and do not fear God. 661
55:20 He 662 attacks 663 his friends; 664
he breaks his solemn promises to them. 665
55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, 666
but he harbors animosity in his heart. 667
His words seem softer than oil,
but they are really like sharp swords. 668
55:22 Throw your burden 669 upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you. 670
He will never allow the godly to be upended. 671
55:23 But you, O God, will bring them 672 down to the deep Pit. 673
Violent and deceitful people 674 will not live even half a normal lifespan. 675
But as for me, I trust in you.
For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; 677 a prayer 678 of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. 679
56:1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! 680
All day long hostile enemies 681 are tormenting me. 682
56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat 683 attack me all day long.
Indeed, 684 many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. 685
I trust in you.
56:4 In God – I boast in his promise 687 –
in God I trust, I am not afraid.
What can mere men 688 do to me? 689
56:5 All day long they cause me trouble; 690
they make a habit of plotting my demise. 691
56:6 They stalk 692 and lurk; 693
they watch my every step, 694
as 695 they prepare to take my life. 696
56:7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape! 697
In your anger 698 bring down the nations, 699 O God!
56:8 You keep track of my misery. 700
Put my tears in your leather container! 701
Are they not recorded in your scroll? 702
56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; 703
I know that God is on my side. 704
56:10 In God – I boast in his promise 705 –
in the Lord – I boast in his promise 706 –
56:11 in God I trust, I am not afraid.
What can mere men 707 do to me? 708
56:12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God; 709
I will give you the thank-offerings you deserve, 710
56:13 when you deliver 711 my life from death.
You keep my feet from stumbling, 712
so that I might serve 713 God as I enjoy life. 714
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 716 a prayer 717 of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave. 718
57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!
For in you I have taken shelter. 719
In the shadow of your wings 720 I take shelter
until trouble passes.
57:2 I cry out for help to the sovereign God, 721
to the God who vindicates 722 me.
57:3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me 723
from my enemies who hurl insults! 724 (Selah)
May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!
57:4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down 725 among those who want to devour me; 726
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are a sharp sword. 727
57:5 Rise up 728 above the sky, O God!
May your splendor cover the whole earth! 729
57:6 They have prepared a net to trap me; 730
I am discouraged. 731
They have dug a pit for me. 732
They will fall 733 into it! (Selah)
57:7 I am determined, 734 O God! I am determined!
I will sing and praise you!
Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!
I will wake up at dawn! 736
57:9 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Master!
I will sing praises to you before foreigners! 737
57:10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, 738
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
57:11 Rise up 739 above the sky, O God!
May your splendor cover the whole earth! 740
Mazmur 59:1-17
KonteksFor the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 742 a prayer 743 of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. 744
59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!
Protect me 745 from those who attack me! 746
59:2 Deliver me from evildoers! 747
Rescue me from violent men! 748
59:3 For look, they wait to ambush me; 749
powerful men stalk 750 me,
but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord. 751
59:4 Though I have done nothing wrong, 752 they are anxious to attack. 753
Spring into action and help me! Take notice of me! 754
59:5 You, O Lord God, the invincible warrior, 755 the God of Israel,
rouse yourself and punish 756 all the nations!
Have no mercy on any treacherous evildoers! (Selah)
59:6 They return in the evening;
they growl 757 like a dog
and prowl around outside 758 the city.
59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me
and openly threaten to kill me, 759
for they say, 760
“Who hears?”
59:8 But you, O Lord, laugh in disgust at them; 761
you taunt 762 all the nations.
59:9 You are my source of strength! I will wait for you! 763
For God is my refuge. 764
59:10 The God who loves me will help me; 765
God will enable me to triumph over 766 my enemies. 767
59:11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson. 768
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us! 769
59:12 They speak sinful words. 770
So let them be trapped by their own pride
and by the curses and lies they speak!
59:13 Angrily wipe them out! Wipe them out so they vanish!
Let them know that God rules
in Jacob and to the ends of the earth! (Selah)
59:14 They return in the evening;
they growl 771 like a dog
and prowl around outside 772 the city.
59:15 They wander around looking for something to eat;
they refuse to sleep until they are full. 773
59:16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;
I will praise your loyal love in the morning.
For you are my refuge 774
and my place of shelter when I face trouble. 775
59:17 You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you! 776
For God is my refuge, 777 the God who loves me. 778
Mazmur 63:1--64:10
KonteksA psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. 780
63:1 O God, you are my God! I long for you! 781
My soul thirsts 782 for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and parched 783 land where there is no water.
63:2 Yes, 784 in the sanctuary I have seen you, 785
and witnessed 786 your power and splendor.
63:3 Because 787 experiencing 788 your loyal love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.
63:4 For this reason 789 I will praise you while I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands. 790
63:5 As if with choice meat 791 you satisfy my soul. 792
My mouth joyfully praises you, 793
63:6 whenever 794 I remember you on my bed,
and think about you during the nighttime hours.
63:7 For you are my deliverer; 795
under your wings 796 I rejoice.
63:8 My soul 797 pursues you; 798
your right hand upholds me.
63:9 Enemies seek to destroy my life, 799
but they will descend into the depths of the earth. 800
63:10 Each one will be handed over to the sword; 801
their corpses will be eaten by jackals. 802
63:11 But the king 803 will rejoice in God;
everyone who takes oaths in his name 804 will boast,
for the mouths of those who speak lies will be shut up. 805
For the music director; a psalm of David.
64:1 Listen to me, 807 O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect 808 my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. 809
64:2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,
from the crowd of evildoers. 810
64:3 They 811 sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, 812
64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent 813 in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. 814
64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. 815
They plan how to hide 816 snares,
and boast, 817 “Who will see them?” 818
64:6 They devise 819 unjust schemes;
they disguise 820 a well-conceived plot. 821
Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered. 822
64:7 But God will shoot 823 at them;
suddenly they will be 824 wounded by an arrow. 825
64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. 826
All who see them will shudder, 827
64:9 and all people will fear. 828
They will proclaim 829 what God has done,
and reflect on his deeds.
64:10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and take shelter in him.
All the morally upright 830 will boast. 831
Mazmur 69:1--71:24
KonteksFor the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” 833 by David.
69:1 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck. 834
69:2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground; 835
I am in 836 deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;
my throat is sore; 837
my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. 838
69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.
Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, 839 outnumber me. 840
They make me repay what I did not steal! 841
69:5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins; 842
my guilt is not hidden from you. 843
69:6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,
O sovereign Lord and king! 844
Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,
O God of Israel!
69:7 For I suffer 845 humiliation for your sake 846
and am thoroughly disgraced. 847
69:8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;
they act as if I were a foreigner. 848
69:9 Certainly 849 zeal for 850 your house 851 consumes me;
I endure the insults of those who insult you. 852
69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food, 853
which causes others to insult me. 854
69:11 I wear sackcloth
and they ridicule me. 855
69:12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;
drunkards mock me in their songs. 856
69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! 857
O God, because of your great loyal love,
answer me with your faithful deliverance! 858
69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!
Deliver me 859 from those who hate me,
from the deep water!
69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!
Don’t let the deep swallow me up!
Don’t let the pit 860 devour me! 861
69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! 862
Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!
69:17 Do not ignore 863 your servant,
for I am in trouble! Answer me right away! 864
69:18 Come near me and redeem me! 865
Because of my enemies, rescue me!
69:19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated and disgraced;
you can see all my enemies. 866
69:20 Their insults are painful 867 and make me lose heart; 868
I look 869 for sympathy, but receive none, 870
for comforters, but find none.
69:21 They put bitter poison 871 into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink. 872
69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!
May it be a snare for that group of friends! 873
69:23 May their eyes be blinded! 874
Make them shake violently! 875
69:24 Pour out your judgment 876 on them!
May your raging anger 877 overtake them!
69:25 May their camp become desolate,
their tents uninhabited! 878
69:26 For they harass 879 the one whom you discipline; 880
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish. 881
69:27 Hold them accountable for all their sins! 882
Do not vindicate them! 883
69:28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living! 884
Do not let their names be listed with the godly! 885
69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!
O God, deliver and protect me! 886
69:30 I will sing praises to God’s name! 887
I will magnify him as I give him thanks! 888
69:31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull
with horns and hooves.
69:32 The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!
You who seek God, 889 may you be encouraged! 890
69:33 For the Lord listens to the needy;
he does not despise his captive people. 891
69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them!
69:35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people 892 will again live in them and possess Zion. 893
69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him 894 will live in it. 895
For the music director; by David; written to get God’s attention. 897
70:1 O God, please be willing to rescue me! 898
O Lord, hurry and help me! 899
70:2 May those who are trying to take my life
be embarrassed and ashamed! 900
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed! 901
70:3 May those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
be driven back 902 and disgraced! 903
70:4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!
May those who love to experience 904 your deliverance say continually, 905
70:5 I am oppressed and needy! 908
O God, hurry to me! 909
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O Lord, 910 do not delay!
71:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!
Never let me be humiliated!
71:2 Vindicate me by rescuing me! 912
Listen to me! 913 Deliver me! 914
71:3 Be my protector and refuge, 915
a stronghold where I can be safe! 916
For you are my high ridge 917 and my stronghold.
71:4 My God, rescue me from the power 918 of the wicked,
from the hand of the cruel oppressor!
71:5 For you give me confidence, 919 O Lord;
O Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young. 920
71:6 I have leaned on you since birth; 921
you pulled me 922 from my mother’s womb.
I praise you continually. 923
71:7 Many are appalled when they see me, 924
but you are my secure shelter.
71:8 I praise you constantly
and speak of your splendor all day long. 925
71:9 Do not reject me in my old age! 926
When my strength fails, do not abandon me!
71:10 For my enemies talk about me;
those waiting for a chance to kill me plot my demise. 927
71:11 They say, 928 “God has abandoned him.
Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him!”
71:12 O God, do not remain far away from me!
My God, hurry and help me! 929
71:13 May my accusers be humiliated and defeated!
May those who want to harm me 930 be covered with scorn and disgrace!
71:14 As for me, I will wait continually,
and will continue to praise you. 931
71:15 I will tell about your justice,
and all day long proclaim your salvation, 932
though I cannot fathom its full extent. 933
71:16 I will come and tell about 934 the mighty acts of the sovereign Lord.
I will proclaim your justice – yours alone.
71:17 O God, you have taught me since I was young,
and I am still declaring 935 your amazing deeds.
71:18 Even when I am old and gray, 936
O God, do not abandon me,
until I tell the next generation about your strength,
and those coming after me about your power. 937
71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; 938
you have done great things. 939
O God, who can compare to you? 940
71:20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress, 941
revive me once again! 942
Bring me up once again 943 from the depths of the earth!
71:21 Raise me to a position of great honor! 944
Turn and comfort me! 945
71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,
praising 946 your faithfulness, O my God!
I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,
O Holy One of Israel! 947
71:23 My lips will shout for joy! Yes, 948 I will sing your praises!
I will praise you when you rescue me! 949
71:24 All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice,
for those who want to harm me 950 will be embarrassed and ashamed. 951
Mazmur 77:1-20
KonteksFor the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77:1 I will cry out to God 953 and call for help!
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention 954 to me.
77:2 In my time of trouble I sought 955 the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. 956
I 957 refused to be comforted.
77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” 958 (Selah)
77:4 You held my eyelids open; 959
I was troubled and could not speak. 960
77:5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times. 961
77:6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening. 962
77:7 I asked, 963 “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
77:8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise 964 failed forever?
77:9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?”
77:10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the sovereign One 965 might become inactive. 966
77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! 967
77:12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds!”
77:13 968 O God, your deeds are extraordinary! 969
What god can compare to our great God? 970
77:14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
77:15 You delivered 971 your people by your strength 972 –
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
77:16 The waters 973 saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled. 974
Yes, the depths of the sea 975 shook with fear. 976
77:17 The clouds poured down rain; 977
the skies thundered. 978
Yes, your arrows 979 flashed about.
77:18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook. 980
77:19 You walked through the sea; 981
you passed through the surging waters, 982
but left no footprints. 983
77:20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Mazmur 86:1-17
KonteksA prayer of David.
86:1 Listen 985 O Lord! Answer me!
For I am oppressed and needy.
86:2 Protect me, 986 for I am loyal!
O my God, deliver your servant, who trusts in you!
86:3 Have mercy on me, 987 O Lord,
for I cry out to you all day long!
86:4 Make your servant 988 glad,
for to you, O Lord, I pray! 989
86:5 Certainly 990 O Lord, you are kind 991 and forgiving,
and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
86:6 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for mercy!
86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,
for you will answer me.
86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!
Your exploits are incomparable! 992
86:9 All the nations, whom you created,
will come and worship you, 993 O Lord.
They will honor your name.
86:10 For you are great and do amazing things.
You alone are God.
86:11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live! 994
Then I will obey your commands. 995
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you! 996
86:12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart!
I will honor your name continually! 997
86:13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me, 998
and will deliver my life 999 from the depths of Sheol. 1000
86:14 O God, arrogant men attack me; 1001
a gang 1002 of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. 1003
86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient 1004 and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. 1005
86:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me!
Give your servant your strength!
Deliver your slave! 1006
86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! 1007
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, 1008
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. 1009
Mazmur 102:1-28
KonteksThe prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my cry for help! 1011
102:2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble! 1012
Listen to me! 1013
When I call out to you, quickly answer me!
102:3 For my days go up in smoke, 1014
and my bones are charred like a fireplace. 1015
102:4 My heart is parched 1016 and withered like grass,
for I am unable 1017 to eat food. 1018
102:5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin. 1019
102:6 I am like an owl 1020 in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl 1021 among the ruins. 1022
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses. 1024
102:9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread, 1025
and mix my drink with my tears, 1026
102:10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed, 1027 you pick me up and throw me away.
102:11 My days are coming to an end, 1028
and I am withered like grass.
102:12 But you, O Lord, rule forever, 1029
and your reputation endures. 1030
102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. 1031
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
102:14 Indeed, 1032 your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for 1033 the dust of her ruins. 1034
102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, 1035
and all the kings of the earth will respect 1036 his splendor,
102:16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, 1037
and does not reject 1038 their request. 1039
102:18 The account of his intervention 1040 will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born will praise the Lord.
102:19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above; 1041
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth, 1042
102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die, 1043
102:21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him 1044 in Jerusalem, 1045
102:22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. 1046
102:23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; 1047
he has cut short my days.
102:24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! 1048
You endure through all generations. 1049
102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
102:26 They will perish,
but you will endure. 1050
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. 1051
your years do not come to an end.
102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants 1053 will live securely in your presence.” 1054
Mazmur 120:1-7
KonteksA song of ascents. 1056
120:1 In my distress I cried out
to the Lord and he answered me.
120:2 I said, 1057 “O Lord, rescue me 1058
from those who lie with their lips 1059
and those who deceive with their tongue. 1060
120:3 How will he severely punish you,
you deceptive talker? 1061
120:4 Here’s how! 1062 With the sharp arrows of warriors,
with arrowheads forged over the hot coals. 1063
120:5 How miserable I am! 1064
For I have lived temporarily 1065 in Meshech;
I have resided among the tents of Kedar. 1066
120:6 For too long I have had to reside
with those who hate 1067 peace.
120:7 I am committed to peace, 1068
but when I speak, they want to make war. 1069
Mazmur 130:1-8
KonteksA song of ascents. 1071
130:1 From the deep water 1072 I cry out to you, O Lord.
130:2 O Lord, listen to me! 1073
Pay attention to 1074 my plea for mercy!
130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of 1075 sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you? 1076
130:4 But 1077 you are willing to forgive, 1078
so that you might 1079 be honored. 1080
130:5 I rely on 1081 the Lord,
I rely on him with my whole being; 1082
I wait for his assuring word. 1083
130:6 I yearn for the Lord, 1084
more than watchmen do for the morning,
yes, more than watchmen do for the morning. 1085
130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for the Lord exhibits loyal love, 1086
and is more than willing to deliver. 1087
130:8 He will deliver 1088 Israel
from all the consequences of their sins. 1089
Mazmur 140:1--143:12
KonteksFor the music director; a psalm of David.
140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! 1091
Protect me from violent men, 1092
140:2 who plan ways to harm me. 1093
All day long they stir up conflict. 1094
140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; 1095
a viper’s 1096 venom is behind 1097 their lips. (Selah)
140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power 1098 of the wicked!
Protect me from violent men,
who plan to knock me over. 1099
140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men 1100 spread a net by the path;
they set traps for me. (Selah)
140:6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!
140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, 1101
you shield 1102 my head in the day of battle.
140:8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way! 1103
Do not allow their 1104 plan to succeed when they attack! 1105 (Selah)
140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –
may the harm done by 1106 their lips overwhelm them!
140:10 May he rain down 1107 fiery coals upon them!
May he throw them into the fire!
From bottomless pits they will not escape. 1108
140:11 A slanderer 1109 will not endure on 1110 the earth;
calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down. 1111
140:12 I know 1112 that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed
and vindicates the poor. 1113
140:13 Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;
the morally upright will live in your presence.
A psalm of David.
141:1 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!
Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!
141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,
my uplifted hands like the evening offering! 1115
141:3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth!
Protect the opening 1116 of my lips! 1117
141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, 1118
or participate in sinful activities
with men who behave wickedly. 1119
I will not eat their delicacies. 1120
141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!
May my head not refuse 1121 choice oil! 1122
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. 1123
141:6 They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges. 1124
They 1125 will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
141:7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil, 1126
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
141:8 Surely I am looking to you, 1127 O sovereign Lord.
In you I take shelter.
Do not expose me to danger! 1128
141:9 Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,
and the traps the evildoers have set. 1129
141:10 Let the wicked fall 1130 into their 1131 own nets,
while I escape. 1132
A well-written song 1134 by David, when he was in the cave; 1135 a prayer.
142:1 To the Lord I cry out; 1136
to the Lord I plead for mercy. 1137
142:2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about 1138 my troubles.
142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, 1139
you watch my footsteps. 1140
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
142:4 Look to the right and see!
No one cares about me. 1141
I have nowhere to run; 1142
no one is concerned about my life. 1143
142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my security 1144 in the land of the living.”
142:6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble! 1145
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
142:7 Free me 1146 from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Because of me the godly will assemble, 1147
for you will vindicate me. 1148
A psalm of David.
143:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for help!
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!
143:2 Do not sit in judgment on 1150 your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you. 1151
143:3 Certainly 1152 my enemies 1153 chase me.
They smash me into the ground. 1154
They force me to live 1155 in dark regions, 1156
like those who have been dead for ages.
143:4 My strength leaves me; 1157
I am absolutely shocked. 1158
143:5 I recall the old days; 1159
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments. 1160
143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; 1161
my soul thirsts for you in a parched 1162 land. 1163
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 1164
Do not reject me, 1165
or I will join 1166 those descending into the grave. 1167
143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, 1168
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, 1169
because I long for you. 1170
143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord!
I run to you for protection. 1171
143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, 1172
for you are my God.
May your kind presence 1173
lead me 1174 into a level land. 1175
143:11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, 1176 revive me! 1177
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble! 1178
143:12 As a demonstration of your loyal love, 1179 destroy my enemies!
Annihilate 1180 all who threaten my life, 1181
for I am your servant.
[3:1] 1 sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).
[3:1] 2 sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).
[3:1] 3 tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).
[3:1] 4 tn Heb “many rise up against me.”
[3:2] 5 tn Heb “there is no deliverance for him in God.”
[3:2] 6 sn The function of the Hebrew term סֶלָה (selah), transliterated here “Selah,” is uncertain. It may be a musical direction of some kind.
[3:3] 7 tn Heb “a shield round about me.”
[3:3] 8 tn Heb “my glory,” or “my honor.” The psalmist affirms that the
[3:3] 9 tn Heb “[the one who] lifts my head.” This phrase could be understood to refer to a general strengthening of the psalmist by God during difficult circumstances. However, if one takes the suggestion of the superscription that this is a Davidic psalm written during the revolt of Absalom, the phrase “lift the head” could refer to the psalmist’s desire for restoration to his former position (cf. Gen 40:13 where the same phrase is used). Like the Hebrew text, the present translation (“who restores me”) can be understood in either sense.
[3:4] 10 tn The prefixed verbal form could be an imperfect, yielding the translation “I cry out,” but the verb form in the next line (a vav [ו] consecutive with the preterite) suggests this is a brief narrative of what has already happened. Consequently the verb form in v. 4a is better understood as a preterite, “I cried out.” (For another example of the preterite of this same verb form, see Ps 30:8.) Sometime after the crisis arose, the psalmist prayed to the Lord and received an assuring answer. Now he confidently awaits the fulfillment of the divine promise.
[3:4] 11 sn His holy hill. That is, Zion (see Pss 2:6; 48:1-2). The psalmist recognizes that the
[3:5] 12 tn The three verbal forms that appear in succession here (perfect + vav [ו] consecutive with preterite + perfect) are most naturally taken as narrational. When the psalmist received an assuring word from the
[3:5] 13 tn Or “supports”; “sustains.” In this explanatory causal clause the imperfect verbal form probably has a habitual or present progressive nuance, for the psalmist is confident of God’s continual protection (see v. 3). Another option is to take the verb as a preterite, “for the
[3:6] 14 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s continuing attitude as he faces the crisis at hand.
[3:6] 15 tn Or perhaps “troops.” The Hebrew noun עָם (’am) sometimes refers to a military contingent or army.
[3:6] 16 tn Heb “who all around take a stand against me.”
[3:7] 17 tn In v. 2 the psalmist describes his enemies as those who “confront” him (קָמִים [qamim], literally, “rise up against him”). Now, using the same verbal root (קוּם, qum) he asks the
[3:7] 18 tn Elsewhere in the psalms the particle כִּי (ki), when collocated with a perfect verbal form and subordinated to a preceding imperative directed to God, almost always has an explanatory or causal force (“for, because”) and introduces a motivating argument for why God should respond positively to the request (see Pss 5:10; 6:2; 12:1; 16:1; 41:4; 55:9; 56:1; 57:1; 60:2; 69:1; 74:20; 119:94; 123:3; 142:6; 143:8). (On three occasions the כִּי is recitative after a verb of perception [“see/know that,” see Pss 4:3; 25:19; 119:159]). If כִּי is taken as explanatory here, then the psalmist is arguing that God should deliver him now because that is what God characteristically does. However, such a motivating argument is not used in the passages cited above. The motivating argument usually focuses on the nature of the psalmist’s dilemma or the fact that he trusts in the Lord. For this reason it is unlikely that כִּי has its normal force here. Most scholars understand the particle כִּי as having an asseverative (emphasizing) function here (“indeed, yes”; NEB leaves the particle untranslated).
[3:7] 19 tn If the particle כִּי (ki) is taken as explanatory, then the perfect verbal forms in v. 7b would describe God’s characteristic behavior. However, as pointed out in the preceding note on the word “yes,” the particle probably has an asseverative force here. If so, the perfects may be taken as indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s assault on his enemies as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm, as expressed before (vv. 3-6) and after this (v. 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“Strike all my enemies on the jaw, break the teeth of the wicked”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
[3:7] 20 sn The expression break the teeth may envision violent hand-to hand combat, though it is possible that the enemies are pictured here as a dangerous animal (see Job 29:17).
[3:7] 21 tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
[3:8] 22 tn Heb “to the
[3:8] 23 tn Heb “upon your people [is] your blessing.” In this context God’s “blessing” includes deliverance/protection, vindication, and sustained life (see Pss 21:3, 6; 24:5).
[5:1] 24 sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.
[5:1] 25 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).
[5:1] 27 tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.
[5:3] 28 sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).
[5:3] 29 tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “
[5:3] 31 tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.
[5:3] 32 tn Heb “and I will watch.”
[5:4] 34 tn Heb “not a God [who] delights [in] wickedness [are] you.”
[5:4] 35 tn The Hebrew text has simply the singular form רע, which may be taken as an abstract noun “evil” (the reference to “wickedness” in the preceding line favors this; cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV) or as a substantival adjective “evil one” (the references to evil people in the next two verses favor this; cf. NIV “with you the wicked cannot dwell”).
[5:4] 36 tn Heb “cannot dwell as a resident alien [with] you.” The negated imperfect verbal form here indicates incapability or lack of permission. These people are morally incapable of dwelling in God’s presence and are not permitted to do so.
[5:4] sn Only the godly are allowed to dwell with the Lord. Evil people are excluded. See Ps 15.
[5:5] 37 tn Heb “before your eyes.”
[5:5] 38 sn You hate. The
[5:5] 39 tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.”
[5:6] 40 tn The imperfect verbal form indicates God’s typical response to such individuals. Another option is to translate the verb as future (“You will destroy”); the psalmist may be envisioning a time of judgment when God will remove the wicked from the scene.
[5:6] 41 tn Heb “those who speak a lie.” In the OT a “lie” does not refer in a general philosophical sense to any statement that fails to correspond to reality. Instead it refers more specifically to a slanderous and/or deceitful statement that promotes one’s own selfish, sinful interests and/or exploits or harms those who are innocent. Note the emphasis on violence and deceit in the following line.
[5:6] 42 tn The imperfect verbal form highlights the
[5:6] 43 tn Heb “a man of bloodshed and deceit.” The singular אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is used here in a collective or representative sense; thus the translation “people” is appropriate here. Note the plural forms in vv. 5-6a.
[5:7] 44 sn But as for me. By placing the first person pronoun at the beginning of the verse, the psalmist highlights the contrast between the evildoers’ actions and destiny, outlined in the preceding verses, with his own.
[5:7] 45 sn I will enter your house. The psalmist is confident that God will accept him into his presence, in contrast to the evildoers (see v. 5).
[5:7] 46 tn Heb “in fear [of] you.” The Hebrew noun יִרְאָה (yir’ah, “fear”), when used of fearing God, is sometimes used metonymically for what it ideally produces: “worship, reverence, piety.”
[5:8] 47 tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.
[5:8] 48 tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.
[5:8] 49 tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).
[5:9] 51 tn Heb “for there is not in his mouth truthfulness.” The singular pronoun (“his”) probably refers back to the “man of bloodshed and deceit” mentioned in v. 6. The singular is collective or representative, as the plural in the next line indicates, and so has been translated “they.”
[5:9] 52 tn Heb “their inward part[s] [is] destruction.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse.
[5:9] 53 tn Heb “their throat is an open grave.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse. The metaphor is suggested by the physical resemblance of the human throat to a deeply dug grave; both are dark chasms.
[5:9] 54 tn Heb “they make smooth their tongue.” Flattering, deceitful words are in view. See Ps 12:2. The psalmist’s deceitful enemies are compared to the realm of death/Sheol in v. 9b. Sheol was envisioned as a dark region within the earth, the entrance to which was the grave with its steep slopes (cf. Ps 88:4-6). The enemies’ victims are pictured here as slipping down a steep slope (the enemies’ tongues) and falling into an open grave (their throat) that terminates in destruction in the inner recesses of Sheol (their stomach). The enemies’ קרב (“inward part”) refers here to their thoughts and motives, which are destructive in their intent. The throat is where these destructive thoughts are transformed into words, and their tongue is what they use to speak the deceitful words that lead their innocent victims to their demise.
[5:9] sn As the psalmist walks down the path in which God leads him, he asks the
[5:10] 55 tn Heb “declare/regard them as guilty.” Declaring the psalmist’s adversaries guilty is here metonymic for judging them or paying them back for their wrongdoing.
[5:10] 56 tn Heb “may they fall from their plans.” The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation. The psalmist calls judgment down on the evildoers. Their plans will be their downfall in that God will judge them for their evil schemes.
[5:10] 57 tn Or “banish them.”
[5:10] 58 tn The Hebrew noun used here, פֶּשַׁע (pesha’), refers to rebellious actions. The psalmist pictures his enemies as rebels against God (see the next line).
[5:11] 59 sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
[5:11] 60 tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer. The psalmist calls on God to reward his faithful followers.
[5:11] 61 tn Or perhaps more hyperbolically, “forever.”
[5:11] 62 tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer.
[5:11] 63 tn Heb “put a cover over them.” The verb form is a Hiphil imperfect from סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “cover, shut off”). The imperfect expresses the psalmist’s wish or request.
[5:11] 64 tn Heb “the lovers of your name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to the Lord. See Pss 69:36; 119:132; Isa 56:6.
[5:11] 65 tn The vav (ו) with prefixed verbal form following the volitional “shelter them” indicates purpose or result (“so that those…may rejoice).
[5:12] 67 tn Or “bless.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line highlight how God characteristically rewards and protects the godly.
[5:12] 68 tn Or “innocent.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense.
[5:12] 69 tn Heb “surround.” In 1 Sam 23:26 the verb describes how Saul and his men hemmed David in as they chased him.
[5:12] 70 tn Heb “him.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense and is thus translated “them.”
[5:12] 71 tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.
[6:1] 72 sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.
[6:1] 73 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
[6:1] 74 sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).
[6:2] 75 tn Or “show me favor.”
[6:2] 76 tn Normally the verb בָּהַל (bahal) refers to an emotional response and means “tremble with fear, be terrified” (see vv. 3, 10). Perhaps here the “bones” are viewed as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. However, the verb may describe one of the effects of his physical ailment, perhaps a fever. In Ezek 7:27 the verb describes how the hands of the people will shake with fear when they experience the horrors of divine judgment.
[6:3] 77 tn Heb “my being is very terrified.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
[6:3] 78 tn Heb “and you,
[6:4] 79 tn Heb “my being,” or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
[6:4] 80 sn Deliver me because of your faithfulness. Though the psalmist is experiencing divine discipline, he realizes that God has made a commitment to him in the past, so he appeals to God’s faithfulness in his request for help.
[6:5] 81 tn Heb “for there is not in death your remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זֵכֶר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 30:4; 97:12. “Death” here refers to the realm of death where the dead reside. See the reference to Sheol in the next line.
[6:5] 82 tn The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”
[6:5] sn In Sheol who gives you thanks? According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 30:9; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!
[6:6] 83 tn Heb “I cause to swim through all the night my bed.”
[6:6] 84 tn Heb “with my tears my bed I flood/melt.”
[6:7] 85 tn The Hebrew text has the singular “eye” here.
[6:7] 86 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
[6:7] 87 tn Or perhaps, “grow old.”
[6:7] 88 sn In his weakened condition the psalmist is vulnerable to the taunts and threats of his enemies.
[6:8] 89 tn Heb “all [you] workers of wickedness.” See Ps 5:5.
[6:8] 90 sn The
[6:9] 91 tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the
[6:10] 92 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling judgment down on his enemies.
[6:10] 93 tn Heb “and may they be very terrified.” The psalmist uses the same expression in v. 3 to describe the terror he was experiencing. Now he asks the
[7:1] 94 sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.
[7:1] 95 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.
[7:1] 96 tn Or “on account of.”
[7:1] 97 sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.
[7:1] 98 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
[7:2] 99 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew text, even though “all who chase me” in v. 1 refers to a whole group of enemies. The singular is also used in vv. 4-5, but the psalmist returns to the plural in v. 6. The singular is probably collective, emphasizing the united front that the psalmist’s enemies present. This same alternation between a collective singular and a plural referring to enemies appears in Pss 9:3, 6; 13:4; 31:4, 8; 41:6, 10-11; 42:9-10; 55:3; 64:1-2; 74:3-4; 89:22-23; 106:10-11; 143:3, 6, 9.
[7:2] 100 tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.
[7:2] 101 tn Heb “tearing and there is no one rescuing.” The verbal form translated “tearing” is a singular active participle.
[7:3] 102 tn Heb “if I have done this.”
[7:3] 103 tn Heb “if there is injustice in my hands.” The “hands” figuratively suggest deeds or actions.
[7:4] 104 tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.
[7:4] 105 tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.
[7:5] 106 tn The vocalization of the verb form seems to be a mixture of Qal and Piel (see GKC 168 §63.n). The translation assumes the Piel, which would emphasize the repetitive nature of the action. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a jussive. The psalmist is so certain that he is innocent of the sins mentioned in vv. 3-4, he pronounces an imprecation on himself for rhetorical effect.
[7:5] 107 tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.
[7:5] 108 tn Heb “and may he overtake.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. The object “me,” though unexpressed, is understood from the preceding statement.
[7:5] 109 tn Heb “and may he trample down to the earth my life.”
[7:5] 110 tn Heb “and my honor in the dust may he cause to dwell.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. Some emend כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy, “my honor”) to כְבֵדִי (khÿvediy, “my liver” as the seat of life), but the term כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy) is to be retained since it probably refers to the psalmist’s dignity or honor.
[7:6] 111 tn Heb “in your anger.”
[7:6] 112 tn Heb “Lift yourself up in the angry outbursts of my enemies.” Many understand the preposition prefixed to עַבְרוֹת (’avrot, “angry outbursts”) as adversative, “against,” and the following genitive “enemies” as subjective. In this case one could translate, “rise up against my furious enemies” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The present translation, however, takes the preposition as indicating manner (cf. “in your anger” in the previous line) and understands the plural form of the noun as indicating an abstract quality (“fury”) or excessive degree (“raging fury”). Cf. Job 21:30.
[7:6] 113 tc Heb “Wake up to me [with the] judgment [which] you have commanded.” The LXX understands אֵלִי (’eliy, “my God”) instead of אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”; the LXX reading is followed by NEB, NIV, NRSV.) If the reading of the MT is retained, the preposition probably has the sense of “on account of, for the sake of.” The noun מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “judgment”) is probably an adverbial accusative, modifying the initial imperative, “wake up.” In this case צִוִּיתָ (tsivvita, “[which] you have commanded”) is an asyndetic relative clause. Some take the perfect as precative. In this case one could translate the final line, “Wake up for my sake! Decree judgment!” (cf. NIV). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
[7:7] 114 tn Heb “and the assembly of the peoples surrounds you.” Some understand the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may the assembly of the peoples surround you.”
[7:7] 115 tn Heb “over it (the feminine suffix refers back to the feminine noun “assembly” in the preceding line) on high return.” Some emend שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return”) to שֵׁבָה (shevah, “sit [in judgment]”) because they find the implication of “return” problematic. But the psalmist does not mean to imply that God has abandoned his royal throne and needs to regain it. Rather he simply urges God, as sovereign king of the world, to once more occupy his royal seat of judgment and execute judgment, as the OT pictures God doing periodically.
[7:8] 116 sn The
[7:8] 117 tn Heb “judge me, O
[7:8] 118 tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.
[7:8] 119 tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.
[7:9] 120 tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
[7:9] 121 tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.
[7:9] 122 tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.
[7:9] 123 tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.
[7:9] 124 tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.
[7:9] 125 tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
[7:10] 126 tn Traditionally, “my shield is upon God” (cf. NASB). As in v. 8, עַל (’al) should be understood as a divine title, here compounded with “God” (cf. NIV, “God Most High”). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:45-46. The shield metaphor pictures God as a protector against deadly attacks.
[7:10] 127 tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).
[7:11] 128 tn Heb “God (the divine name אֵל [’el] is used) is angry during all the day.” The verb זֹעֵם (zo’em) means “be indignant, be angry, curse.” Here God’s angry response to wrongdoing and injustice leads him to prepare to execute judgment as described in the following verses.
[7:12] 129 tn Heb “If he”; the referent (a person who is a sinner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The subject of the first verb is understood as the sinner who fails to repent of his ways and becomes the target of God’s judgment (vv. 9, 14-16).
[7:12] 130 tn Heb “if he does not return, his sword he sharpens.” The referent (God) of the pronominal subject of the second verb (“sharpens”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:12] 131 tn Heb “his bow he treads and prepares it.” “Treading the bow” involved stepping on one end of it in order to string it and thus prepare it for battle.
[7:13] 132 tn Heb “and for him he prepares the weapons of death.”
[7:13] 133 tn Heb “his arrows into flaming [things] he makes.”
[7:14] 134 tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”
[7:14] sn Pregnant with wickedness…gives birth to harmful lies. The psalmist metaphorically pictures the typical sinner as a pregnant woman, who is ready to give birth to wicked, destructive schemes and actions.
[7:15] 135 tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.
[7:15] 136 tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.
[7:16] 137 tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”
[7:16] 138 tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”
[7:17] 139 tn Heb “according to.”
[7:17] 140 tn Heb “[to] the name of the
[13:1] 141 sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.
[13:1] 142 tn Heb “will you forget me continually.”
[13:1] 143 tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”
[13:2] 144 tn Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”
[13:2] 145 tn Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”
[13:2] 146 tn Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”
[13:3] 148 tn Heb “Give light [to] my eyes.” The Hiphil of אוּר (’ur), when used elsewhere with “eyes” as object, refers to the law of God giving moral enlightenment (Ps 19:8), to God the creator giving literal eyesight to all people (Prov 29:13), and to God giving encouragement to his people (Ezra 9:8). Here the psalmist pictures himself as being on the verge of death. His eyes are falling shut and, if God does not intervene soon, he will “fall asleep” for good.
[13:3] 149 tn Heb “or else I will sleep [in?] the death.” Perhaps the statement is elliptical, “I will sleep [the sleep] of death,” or “I will sleep [with the sleepers in] death.”
[13:5] 152 tn The grammatical construction used here (conjunction with independent pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s defeated condition envisioned in v. 4 and confident attitude he displays in v. 5.
[13:5] 153 tn Heb “may my heart rejoice in your deliverance.” The verb form is jussive. Having expressed his trust in God’s faithful character and promises, the psalmist prays that his confidence will prove to be well-placed. “Heart” is used here of the seat of the emotions.
[13:6] 154 tn The verb form is cohortative, indicating the psalmist’s resolve (or vow) to praise the
[13:6] 155 tn Or “for he will have vindicated me.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here. The idiom גָמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.
[17:1] 156 sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.
[17:1] 157 tn Heb “hear,
[17:1] 158 tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”
[17:2] 159 tn Heb “From before you may my justice come out.” The prefixed verbal form יָצָא (yatsa’) could be taken as an imperfect, but following the imperatives in v. 1, it is better understood as a jussive of prayer.
[17:2] 160 tn Heb “May your eyes look at what is right.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as jussive. (See also the preceding note on the word “behalf.”)
[17:3] 161 tn Heb “you tested my heart.”
[17:3] 162 tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”
[17:3] 163 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.
[17:4] 164 tn Heb “with regard to the deeds of man[kind].”
[17:4] 165 tn Heb “by the word of your lips, I, I have watched the paths of the violent” (i.e., “watched” in the sense of “watched for the purpose of avoiding”).
[17:5] 166 tn Heb “my steps stay firm in your tracks.” The infinitive absolute functions here as a finite verb (see GKC 347 §113.gg). God’s “tracks” are his commands, i.e., the moral pathways he has prescribed for the psalmist.
[17:5] 167 tn Heb “my footsteps do not stagger.”
[17:6] 168 tn Heb “Turn your ear toward me.”
[17:7] 170 tn Heb “Set apart faithful acts.”
[17:7] 171 tn Heb “[O] one who delivers those who seek shelter from the ones raising themselves up, by your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver.
[17:7] sn Those who look to you for protection from their enemies. “Seeking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
[17:8] 172 tc Heb “Protect me like the pupil, a daughter of an eye.” The noun בַּת (bat, “daughter”) should probably be emended to בָּבַת (bavat, “pupil”). See Zech 2:12 HT (2:8 ET) and HALOT 107 s.v. *בָּבָה.
[17:8] 173 sn Your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.
[17:9] 174 tn Heb “from before”; or “because.” In the Hebrew text v. 9 is subordinated to v. 8. The words “protect me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:9] 175 tn Heb “destroy.” The psalmist uses the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of danger. He describes the wicked as being already in the process of destroying him.
[17:9] 176 tn Heb “my enemies, at the risk of life they surround me.” The Hebrew phrase בְּנֶפֶשׁ (bÿnefesh) sometimes has the nuance “at the risk of [one’s] life” (see 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23; Lam 5:9).
[17:10] 177 tn Heb “their fat they close.” The Hebrew term חֵלֶב (khelev, “fat”) appears to stand by metonymy for their calloused hearts. They attack the psalmist without feeling any pity or remorse. Some propose emending the text to חֵלֶב לִבָּמוֹ (khelev libbamo, “fat of their heart[s]; cf. Ps 119:70, “their heart is insensitive like fat”). This assumes haplography of the לב (lamed-bet) consonantal sequence.
[17:10] 178 tn Heb “[with] their mouth they speak with arrogance.”
[17:11] 179 tc Heb “our steps, now they surround me.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “surround me,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has “surround us,” harmonizing the pronoun to the preceding “our steps.” The first person plural pronoun does not fit the context, where the psalmist speaks as an individual. In the preceding verses the psalmist uses a first person singular verbal or pronominal form twenty times. For this reason it is preferable to emend “our steps” to אִשְּׁרוּנִי (’ishÿruni, “they attack me”) from the verbal root אָשֻׁר (’ashur, “march, stride, track”).
[17:11] 180 tn Heb “their eyes they set to bend down in the ground.”
[17:12] 181 tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.
[17:12] 182 tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”
[17:12] 183 tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”
[17:13] 185 tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”
[17:13] 186 tn Or “bring him to his knees.”
[17:13] 187 tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”
[17:14] 188 tc Heb “from men [by] your hand,
[17:14] 189 tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”
[17:14] 190 tn Heb “their portion, in life.”
[17:14] 191 tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”
[17:14] sn You overwhelm them with the riches they desire. The psalmist is not accusing God of being unjust; he is simply observing that the wicked often prosper and that God is the ultimate source of all blessings that human beings enjoy (see Matt 5:45). When the wicked are ungrateful for God’s blessings, they become even more culpable and deserving of judgment. So this description of the wicked actually supports the psalmist’s appeal for deliverance. God should rescue him because he is innocent (see vv. 3-5) and because the wicked, though blessed abundantly by God, still have the audacity to attack God’s people.
[17:14] 192 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”
[17:15] 193 tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”
[17:15] 194 tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.
[17:15] sn When I awake you will reveal yourself to me. Some see in this verse an allusion to resurrection. According to this view, when the psalmist awakens from the sleep of death, he will see God. It is unlikely that the psalmist had such a highly developed personal eschatology. As noted above, it is more likely that he is anticipating a divine visitation and mystical encounter as a prelude to his deliverance from his enemies.
[22:1] 195 sn Psalm 22. The psalmist cries out to the Lord for deliverance from his dangerous enemies, who have surrounded him and threaten his life. Confident that the Lord will intervene, he then vows to thank the Lord publicly for his help and anticipates a time when all people will recognize the Lord’s greatness and worship him.
[22:1] 196 tn Heb “according to the doe of the dawn.” Apparently this refers to a particular musical tune or style.
[22:1] 197 sn From the psalmist’s perspective it seems that God has abandoned him, for he fails to answer his cry for help (vv. 1b-2).
[22:1] 198 tn Heb “far from my deliverance [are] the words of my groaning.” The Hebrew noun שְׁאָגָה (shÿ’agah) and its related verb שָׁאַג (sha’ag) are sometimes used of a lion’s roar, but they can also describe human groaning (see Job 3:24 and Pss 32:3 and 38:8.
[22:2] 199 tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”
[22:3] 200 tn Heb “[O] one who sits [on] the praises of Israel.” The verb “receiving” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The metaphorical language pictures the
[22:4] 202 tn The words “in you” are supplied in the translation. They are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
[22:5] 203 tn Or “were not ashamed.”
[22:6] 204 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.
[22:6] 205 tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).
[22:6] 206 tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.
[22:6] 207 tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”
[22:7] 208 tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”
[22:7] 209 tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.
[22:7] 210 sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.
[22:8] 211 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.
[22:8] 212 tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the
[22:8] 213 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
[22:8] 214 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
[22:8] 215 tn That is, “for he [the
[22:8] sn This statement does not necessarily reflect the enemies’ actual belief, but it does reflect the psalmist’s confession. The psalmist’s enemies sarcastically appeal to God to help him, because he claims to be an object of divine favor. However, they probably doubted the reality of his claim.
[22:9] 216 tn Or “the one who pulled me.” The verb is derived from either גָחָה (gakhah; see HALOT 187 s.v. גחה) or גִּיחַ (giyakh; see BDB 161 s.v. גִּיחַ) and seems to carry the nuance “burst forth” or “pull out.”
[22:10] 217 tn Heb “upon you I was cast from [the] womb.”
[22:10] 218 tn Heb “from the womb of my mother you [have been] my God.”
[22:10] sn Despite the enemies’ taunts, the psalmist is certain of his relationship with God, which began from the time of his birth (from the time I came out of my mother’s womb).
[22:11] 219 tn Heb “and there is no helper.”
[22:12] 220 sn The psalmist figuratively compares his enemies to dangerous bulls.
[22:12] 221 sn Bashan, located east of the Jordan River, was well-known for its cattle. See Ezek 39:18; Amos 4:1.
[22:13] 222 tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”
[22:13] 223 tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).
[22:13] 224 tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”
[22:14] 225 tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”
[22:14] 226 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.
[22:15] 227 tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.
[22:15] 228 tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”
[22:15] 229 sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).
[22:15] 230 sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.
[22:16] 232 tn Heb “like a lion, my hands and my feet.” This reading is often emended because it is grammatically awkward, but perhaps its awkwardness is by rhetorical design. Its broken syntax may be intended to convey the panic and terror felt by the psalmist. The psalmist may envision a lion pinning the hands and feet of its victim to the ground with its paws (a scene depicted in ancient Near Eastern art), or a lion biting the hands and feet. The line has been traditionally translated, “they pierce my hands and feet,” and then taken as foreshadowing the crucifixion of Christ. Though Jesus does appropriate the language of this psalm while on the cross (compare v. 1 with Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34), the NT does not cite this verse in describing the death of Jesus. (It does refer to vv. 7-8 and 18, however. See Matt 27:35, 39, 43; Mark 15:24, 29; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24.) If one were to insist on an emendation of כָּאֲרִי (ka’ariy, “like a lion”) to a verb, the most likely verbal root would be כָּרָה (karah, “dig”; see the LXX). In this context this verb could refer to the gnawing and tearing of wild dogs (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV). The ancient Greek version produced by Symmachus reads “bind” here, perhaps understanding a verbal root כרך, which is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic and means “to encircle, entwine, embrace” (see HALOT 497-98 s.v. כרך and Jastrow 668 s.v. כָּרַךְ). Neither one of these proposed verbs can yield a meaning “bore, pierce.”
[22:17] 233 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 17-18 draw attention to the progressive nature of the action.
[22:17] 234 tn Heb “they.” The masculine form indicates the enemies are in view. The referent (the psalmist’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:17] 235 tn Heb “they gaze, they look upon me.”
[22:18] 236 tn Heb “casting lots.” The precise way in which this would have been done is not certain.
[22:19] 237 tn Heb “O my strength.”
[22:19] 238 tn Heb “hurry to my help.”
[22:20] 240 tn The verb “save” is supplied in the translation; it is understood by ellipsis (see “deliver” in the preceding line).
[22:20] 241 tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone.
[22:20] 242 tn Heb “from the hand.” Here “hand” is understood by metonymy as a reference to the “paw” and thus the “claws” of the wild dogs.
[22:21] 243 sn The psalmist again compares his enemies to vicious dogs and ferocious lions (see vv. 13, 16).
[22:21] 244 tn The Hebrew term רֵמִים (remim) appears to be an alternate spelling of רְאֵמִים (rÿ’emim, “wild oxen”; see BDB 910 s.v. רְאֵם).
[22:21] 245 tn Heb “and from the horns of the wild oxen you answer me.” Most take the final verb with the preceding prepositional phrase. Some understand the verb form as a relatively rare precative perfect, expressing a wish or request (see IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew. (See the discussion at Ps 3:7.) Others prefer to take the perfect in its usual indicative sense. The psalmist, perhaps in response to an oracle of salvation, affirms confidently that God has answered him, assuring him that deliverance is on the way. The present translation takes the prepositional phrase as parallel to the preceding “from the mouth of the lion” and as collocated with the verb “rescue” at the beginning of the verse. “You have answered me” is understood as a triumphant shout which marks a sudden shift in tone and introduces the next major section of the psalm. By isolating the statement syntactically, the psalmist highlights the declaration.
[22:22] 246 tn Or “brothers,” but here the term does not carry a literal familial sense. It refers to the psalmist’s fellow members of the Israelite covenant community (see v. 23).
[22:23] 247 tn Heb “[you] fearers of the
[22:23] 248 tn Heb “fear him.”
[22:24] 249 tn Or “affliction”; or “need.”
[22:24] 250 sn In this verse the psalmist refers to himself in the third person and characterizes himself as oppressed.
[22:24] 251 tn Heb “he did not hide his face from him.” For other uses of the idiom “hide the face” meaning “ignore,” see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9. Sometimes the idiom carries the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 27:9; 88:14).
[22:25] 253 tn Heb “from with you [is] my praise.”
[22:25] 254 tn Heb “my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.” When asking the
[22:26] 255 sn Eat and be filled. In addition to praising the Lord, the psalmist also offers a thank offering to the Lord and invites others to share in a communal meal.
[22:26] 256 tn Heb “may your heart[s].”
[22:27] 257 tn Heb “may all the ends of the earth remember and turn to the
[22:27] 258 tn Heb “families of the nations.”
[22:27] 259 tn Heb “before you.”
[22:28] 260 tn Heb “for to the
[22:29] 261 tn Heb “fat [ones].” This apparently refers to those who are healthy and robust, i.e., thriving. In light of the parallelism, some prefer to emend the form to יְשֵׁנֵי (yÿsheney, “those who sleep [in the earth]”; cf. NAB, NRSV), but דִּשְׁנֵי (dishney, “fat [ones]”) seems to form a merism with “all who descend into the grave” in the following line. The psalmist envisions all people, whether healthy or dying, joining in worship of the
[22:29] 262 tn Heb “eat and worship.” The verb forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) are normally used in narrative to relate completed actions. Here the psalmist uses the forms rhetorically as he envisions a time when the
[22:29] 263 tn Heb “all of the ones going down [into] the dust.” This group stands in contrast to those mentioned in the previous line. Together the two form a merism encompassing all human beings – the healthy, the dying, and everyone in between.
[22:29] 264 tn Heb “and his life he does not revive.”
[22:30] 265 tn Heb “offspring.”
[22:30] 266 tn Heb “it will be told concerning the Lord to the generation.” The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[22:31] 267 tn Heb “his righteousness.” Here the noun צִדָקָה (tsidaqah) refers to the Lord’s saving deeds whereby he vindicates the oppressed.
[22:31] 268 tn Heb “to a people [to be] born that he has acted.” The words “they will tell” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[25:1] 269 sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.
[25:1] 270 tn Heb “to you, O
[25:3] 271 tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).
[25:4] 272 sn Teach me your paths. In this context the
[25:5] 273 sn The
[25:6] 274 tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.
[25:6] 275 tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”
[25:7] 276 tn Heb “do not remember,” with the intention of punishing.
[25:7] 277 sn That is, the sins characteristic of youths, who lack moral discretion and wisdom.
[25:7] 278 tn Heb “according to your faithfulness, remember me, you, for the sake of your goodness, O
[25:8] 279 tn Heb “good and just.”
[25:8] 280 tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”
[25:9] 281 tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.
[25:9] 282 tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.
[25:9] 283 tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).
[25:10] 284 tn Heb “all the paths of the
[25:10] 285 tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
[25:11] 286 tn Heb “name.” By forgiving the sinful psalmist, the
[25:11] 287 sn Forgive my sin, because it is great. The psalmist readily admits his desperate need for forgiveness.
[25:12] 288 tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the
[25:13] 289 tn Heb “his life in goodness dwells.” The singular is representative (see v. 14).
[25:13] 290 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
[25:14] 292 tn Heb “the advice of the
[25:14] 293 tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”
[25:15] 294 tn Heb “my eyes continually [are] toward the
[25:15] 295 tn Heb “for he will bring out from a net my feet.” The hostility of the psalmist’s enemies is probably in view (see v. 19).
[25:16] 296 tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.
[25:17] 297 tc Heb “the distresses of my heart, they make wide.” The text makes little if any sense as it stands, unless this is an otherwise unattested intransitive use of the Hiphil of רָחַב (rakhav, “be wide”). It is preferable to emend the form הִרְחִיבוּ (hirkhivu; Hiphil perfect third plural “they make wide”) to הַרְחֵיב (harkhev; Hiphil imperative masculine singular “make wide”). (The final vav [ו] can be joined to the following word and taken as a conjunction.) In this case one can translate, “[in/from] the distresses of my heart, make wide [a place for me],” that is, “deliver me from the distress I am experiencing.” For the expression “make wide [a place for me],” see Ps 4:1.
[25:17] 298 tn Heb “from my distresses lead me out.”
[25:18] 299 tn Heb “lift up all my sins.”
[25:19] 300 tn Heb “see my enemies for they are numerous, and [with] violent hatred they hate me.”
[25:22] 303 tn Heb “his distresses.”
[25:22] sn O God, rescue Israel from all their distress. It is possible that the psalmist speaks on behalf of the nation throughout this entire psalm. Another option is that v. 22 is a later addition to the psalm which applies an original individual lament to the covenant community. If so, it may reflect an exilic setting.
[26:1] 304 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.
[26:1] 305 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”
[26:2] 306 tn Heb “evaluate my kidneys and my heart.” The kidneys and heart were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
[26:3] 307 tn Heb “for your faithfulness [is] before my eyes.”
[26:3] 308 tn Heb “and I walk about in your loyalty.”
[26:3] sn The psalmist’s awareness of the Lord’s faithfulness and…loyalty toward him motivates him to remain loyal to the Lord and to maintain his moral purity.
[26:4] 310 tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
[26:4] 311 tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”
[26:5] 312 tn Heb “assembly, company.”
[26:5] 313 tn Heb “sit.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
[26:6] 314 tn Heb “I wash my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The imperfect verbal emphasizes that this is his habit.
[26:6] 315 tn Heb “so I can go around your altar” (probably in ritual procession). Following the imperfect of the preceding line, the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
[26:7] 316 tn Heb “to cause to be heard the sound of thanksgiving.”
[26:7] 317 tn The two infinitival forms (both with prefixed preposition -לְ, lamed) give the purpose for his appearance at the altar.
[26:8] 318 tn Heb “the dwelling of your house.”
[26:8] 319 tn Heb “the place of the abode of your splendor.”
[26:9] 320 tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”
[26:9] 321 tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
[26:10] 322 tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”
[26:10] 323 tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”
[26:11] 324 tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.
[26:11] 325 tn Or “redeem me.”
[26:12] 326 tn Heb “my foot stands in a level place.”
[28:1] 327 sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.
[28:1] 328 tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.
[28:1] 329 tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”
[28:1] 330 tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”
[28:1] 331 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
[28:1] 332 tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.
[28:2] 333 sn I lift my hands. Lifting one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer.
[28:2] 334 tn The Hebrew term דְּבִיר (dÿvir, “temple”) actually refers to the most holy place within the sanctuary.
[28:3] 335 tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”
[28:3] 336 tn Heb “speakers of peace with their neighbors.”
[28:3] 337 tn Heb “and evil [is] in their heart[s].”
[28:4] 338 tn Heb “Give to them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds. According to the work of their hands give to them. Return their due to them.” The highly repetitive style reflects the psalmist’s agitated emotional state and draws attention to his yearning for justice.
[28:5] 339 tn Heb “or the work of his hands.” In this context “the
[28:5] 340 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[28:5] 341 tn Heb “will tear them down and not rebuild them.” The ungodly are compared to a structure that is permanently demolished.
[28:6] 342 tn Heb “blessed [be] the
[28:6] 343 sn He has heard my plea for mercy. The psalmist’s mood abruptly changes at this point, because the Lord responded positively to his petition and assured him that he would deliver him.
[28:7] 344 tn Heb “The
[28:7] 345 tn Heb “in him my heart trusts.”
[28:7] 346 tn Or “I am helped.”
[28:7] 347 tn Heb “and my heart exults.”
[28:7] 348 tn Heb “and from my song I will thank him.” As pointed in the Hebrew text, מִשִּׁירִי (mishiri) appears to be “from my song,” but the preposition “from” never occurs elsewhere with the verb “to thank” (Hiphil of יָדָה, yadah). Perhaps משׁיר is a noun form meaning “song.” If so, it can be taken as an adverbial accusative, “and [with] my song I will thank him.” See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 236.
[28:8] 349 tn Heb “the
[28:8] 350 tn Heb “he [is] a refuge of help for his anointed one.” The noun מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh, “anointed one”) refers to the Davidic king, who perhaps speaks as representative of the nation in this psalm. See Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 84:9; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17.
[28:9] 352 tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.
[28:9] 353 tn Heb “shepherd them and lift them up.”
[28:9] sn The shepherd metaphor is sometimes associated with royal responsibility. See 2 Sam 5:2; 7:7; Mic 5:2-4).
[31:1] 355 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] 356 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”
[31:2] 357 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
[31:2] 358 tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”
[31:2] 359 tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”
[31:3] 360 sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.
[31:3] 361 tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the
[31:3] 362 tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[31:4] 363 tn Heb “bring me out.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form expresses the psalmist’s confidence about the future. Another option is to take the form as expressing a prayer, “free me.”
[31:5] 364 tn Heb “my spirit.” The noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) here refers to the animating spirit that gives the psalmist life.
[31:5] 365 tn Or “redeem.” The perfect verbal form is understood here as anticipatory, indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer that he can describe his deliverance as if it had already happened. Another option is to take the perfect as precative, expressing a wish or request (“rescue me”; cf. NIV). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
[31:6] 366 tn Heb “the ones who observe vain things of falsehood.” See Jonah 2:9.
[31:7] 367 tn Heb “you know the distresses of my life.”
[31:8] 368 tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”
[31:9] 369 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
[31:9] 370 tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.
[31:9] 371 tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.
[31:10] 372 tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”
[31:10] 373 tn Heb “stumbles in.”
[31:10] 374 tn Heb “grow weak.”
[31:11] 375 tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”
[31:11] 376 tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests it is textually corrupt. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (me’od, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (’ed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (’ed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).
[31:11] 377 tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”
[31:12] 378 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
[31:12] 379 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
[31:13] 380 tn Heb “the report of many.”
[31:13] 381 tn Heb “the terror from all around.”
[31:15] 382 tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”
[31:16] 383 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”
[31:17] 384 tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”
[31:18] 385 tn Heb “the [ones which].”
[31:19] 387 tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”
[31:19] 388 tn Heb “for those who fear you.”
[31:19] 389 tn “Taking shelter” in the
[31:19] 390 tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”
[31:20] 391 tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”
[31:20] 392 tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.
[31:20] 393 tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”
[31:21] 394 tn Heb “blessed [be] the
[31:21] 395 tn Heb “for he caused his faithfulness to be amazing to me in a besieged city.” The psalmist probably speaks figuratively here. He compares his crisis to being trapped in a besieged city, but the
[31:22] 396 tn Heb “and I, I said in my haste.”
[31:22] 397 tn Heb “from before your eyes.”
[31:23] 398 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] 399 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.
[31:24] 400 tn Heb “be strong and let your heart[s] be confident.”
[35:1] 401 sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.
[35:2] 403 tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.
[35:3] 404 tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.
[35:3] 405 tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”
[35:3] 406 tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”
[35:4] 407 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies. See also the distinct jussive form in v. 6.
[35:5] 408 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.
[35:5] 409 sn See the mention of the
[35:5] 410 tn Heb “as the
[35:6] 411 tn The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer.
[35:7] 412 tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).
[35:8] 413 tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.
[35:8] 414 tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.
[35:9] 415 tn Heb “then my soul will rejoice in the
[35:10] 416 tn Heb “all my bones will say.”
[35:10] 417 tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.
[35:10] 418 tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.
[35:10] 419 tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.
[35:11] 420 tn Heb “witnesses of violence rise up.”
[35:11] 421 tn Heb “[that] which I do not know they ask me.”
[35:12] 422 tn Heb “they repay me evil instead of good.”
[35:12] 423 tn Heb “[there is] bereavement to my soul.”
[35:13] 424 tn Heb “as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.” Sackcloth was worn by mourners. When the psalmist’s enemies were sick, he was sorry for their misfortune and mourned for them.
[35:13] 425 sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.
[35:13] 426 tn Heb “and my prayer upon my chest will return.” One could translate, “but my prayer was returning upon my chest,” but the use of the imperfect verbal form sets this line apart from the preceding and following lines (vv. 13a, 14), which use the perfect to describe the psalmist’s past actions.
[35:14] 427 tn Heb “like a friend, like a brother to me I walked about.”
[35:14] 428 sn I bowed down. Bowing down was a posture for mourning. See Ps 38:6.
[35:14] 429 tn Heb “like mourning for a mother [in] sorrow I bowed down.”
[35:15] 430 tn Heb “they gathered together against me, stricken [ones], and I did not know.” The Hebrew form נֵכִים (nekhim, “stricken ones” ?) is problematic. Some suggest an emendation to נָכְרִים[כְ] (kÿnokhÿrim, “foreigners”) or “like foreigners,” which would fit with what follows, “[like] foreigners that I do not recognize.” Perhaps the form should be read as a Qal active participle, נֹכִים (nokhim, “ones who strike”) from the verbal root נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike”). The Qal of this verb is unattested in biblical Hebrew, but the peal (basic) stem appears in Old Aramaic (J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 114; DNWSI 1:730.) In this case one might translate, “attackers gathered together against me though I was not aware of it” (cf. NASB “smiters”; NEB, NRSV “ruffians”; NIV “attackers”).
[35:15] 431 tn Heb “they tore and did not keep quiet.” By using the verb “tear,” the psalmist likens his enemies to a wild animal (see Hos 13:8). In v. 17 he compares them to hungry young lions.
[35:16] 432 tc The MT reads “as profane [ones] of mockers of food,” which is nonsensical. The present translation assumes (1) an emendation of בְּחַנְפֵי (bÿkhanfey, “as profane men”) to בְּחַנְפִי (bekhanfiy, “when I tripped”; preposition + Qal infinitive construct from II חָנַף [“limp”] + first common singular pronominal suffix) and (2) an emendation of לַעֲגֵי מָעוֹג (la’agey ma’og, “mockers of food”) to עָגוּ[ם]לַעְגָּ (la’gam ’agu, “[with] taunting they taunted”; masculine plural noun with enclitic mem + Qal perfect third common plural from לַּעַג [la’ag, “taunt”]).
[35:16] 433 tn Heb “gnashing at me with their teeth.” The infinitive absolute adds a complementary action – they gnashed with their teeth as they taunted.
[35:17] 434 tn Heb “O Lord, how long will you see?”
[35:17] 435 tn Heb “bring back, restore.”
[35:17] 437 tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone (see Ps 22:20). The verb “guard” is supplied in the translation, because the verb “rescue” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).
[35:18] 438 sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Ps 22:25.
[35:18] 439 tn Heb “among numerous people.”
[35:19] 440 tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Ps 38:19).
[35:19] 442 tn Heb “[do not let] those who hate me without cause pinch [i.e., wink] an eye.” The negative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (see the preceding line). In the Book of Proverbs “winking an eye” is associated with deceit and trickery (see 6:13; 10:10; 16:30).
[35:20] 443 tn Heb “for they do not speak peace.”
[35:20] 444 tn Heb “but against the quiet ones of the land words of deceit they plan.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 20 highlight their characteristic behavior.
[35:21] 445 tn Heb “and they cause their mouth to be wide against me.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the generalizing mood of the previous verse. For other examples of this use of the prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive, see GKC 329 §111.t.
[35:21] 446 tn Heb “our eye sees.” Apparently this is an idiom meaning to “look in triumph” or “gloat over” (see Ps 54:7).
[35:22] 447 tn Heb “you see, O
[35:23] 448 sn Though he is confident that the Lord is aware of his situation (see v. 22a), the psalmist compares the Lord’s inactivity to sleep and urges him to wake up.
[35:23] 449 tn Heb “for my justice.”
[35:23] 450 tn Heb “for my cause.”
[35:25] 452 tn Heb “in their heart[s].”
[35:25] 453 tn Heb “Aha! Our desire!” The “desire” of the psalmist’s enemies is to triumph over him.
[35:26] 454 tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones who rejoice over my harm.”
[35:26] 455 tn Heb “may they be clothed with shame and humiliation, the ones who magnify [themselves] against me.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 26 are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-25, where the negative particle אַל (’al) appears before the prefixed verbal forms, indicating they are jussives). The psalmist is calling down judgment on his enemies.
[35:27] 456 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27a are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-26).
[35:27] 457 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the
[35:27] 458 tn Heb “the one who desires the peace of his servant.”
[35:28] 459 tn Heb “and my tongue will proclaim your justice.”
[35:28] 460 tn Heb “all the day your praise.” The verb “proclaim” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the previous line).
[38:1] 461 sn Psalm 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him.
[38:1] 462 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).
[38:1] 463 tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.
[38:1] sn Compare Ps 38:1 with Ps 6:1, which has similar wording.
[38:2] 464 tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the
[38:2] 465 tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It is preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2).
[38:3] 466 tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.
[38:3] 467 tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”
[38:4] 468 tn Heb “pass over my head.”
[38:5] 469 sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.
[38:5] 470 tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).
[38:5] 471 tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”
[38:6] 472 tn The verb’s precise shade of meaning in this context is not entirely clear. The verb, which literally means “to bend,” may refer to the psalmist’s posture. In Isa 21:3 it seems to mean “be confused, dazed.”
[38:6] 473 tn Heb “I am bowed down to excess.”
[38:7] 474 tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).
[38:7] 475 tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).
[38:8] 476 tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.”
[38:8] 477 tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.”
[38:9] 478 tn Heb “O Lord, before you [is] all my desire.”
[38:10] 479 tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).
[38:11] 480 tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”
[38:11] 481 tn Heb “stand [aloof].”
[38:11] 482 tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”
[38:12] 483 tn Heb “lay snares.”
[38:13] 484 sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).
[38:14] 485 tn Heb “and there is not in his mouth arguments.”
[38:15] 486 tn Or perhaps “surely.”
[38:16] 487 tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1).
[38:16] 488 tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13.
[38:17] 489 tn Heb “and my pain [is] before me continually.”
[38:18] 490 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
[38:19] 491 tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).
[38:19] 492 tn Heb “are many.”
[38:20] 493 tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”
[38:22] 494 tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Ps 22:19.
[42:1] 495 sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew
[42:1] 496 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
[42:1] 497 tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.
[42:1] 498 tn Or “pants [with thirst].”
[42:1] 499 tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” 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).
[42:2] 500 tn Or “my soul thirsts.”
[42:2] 501 tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
[42:2] 502 tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (’era’eh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (’er’eh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (’et) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).
[42:3] 503 tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”
[42:3] 504 tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (be’ÿmor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (bÿ’omram, “when they say”) in v. 10.
[42:4] 505 tn Heb “These things I will remember and I will pour out upon myself my soul.” “These things” are identified in the second half of the verse as those times when the psalmist worshiped in the
[42:4] 506 tc Heb “for I was passing by with the throng [?], I was walking with [?] them to the house of God; with a voice of a ringing shout and thanksgiving a multitude was observing a festival.” The Hebrew phrase בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם (bassakh ’eddaddem, “with the throng [?] I was walking with [?]”) is particularly problematic. The noun סָךְ (sakh) occurs only here. If it corresponds to הָמוֹן (hamon, “multitude”) then one can propose a meaning “throng.” The present translation assumes this reading (cf. NIV, NRSV). The form אֶדַּדֵּם (“I will walk with [?]”) is also very problematic. The form can be taken as a Hitpael from דָּדָה (dadah; this verb possibly appears in Isa 38:15), but the pronominal suffix is problematic. For this reason many emend the form to ם[י]אַדִּרִ (’adirim, “nobles”) or ם-רִ[י]אַדִ (’adirim, “great,” with enclitic mem [ם]). The present translation understands the latter and takes the adjective “great” as modifying “throng.” If one emends סָךְ (sakh, “throng [?]”) to סֹךְ (sokh, “shelter”; see the Qere of Ps 27:5), then ר[י]אַדִּ (’addir) could be taken as a divine epithet, “[in the shelter of] the majestic one,” a reading which may find support in the LXX and Syriac Peshitta.
[42:5] 507 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[42:5] 508 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[42:5] 509 tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.
[42:5] 510 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (’elohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pÿney, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.
[42:6] 511 tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.
[42:6] 512 tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.
[42:6] 513 tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.
[42:6] 514 tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.
[42:7] 515 tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).
[42:7] 516 tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.
[42:7] 517 tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.
[42:8] 518 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
[42:8] 519 tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”
[42:8] 520 tc A few medieval Hebrew
[42:9] 521 tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.
[42:9] 522 tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.
[42:9] 524 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.
[42:10] 525 tc Heb “with a shattering in my bones my enemies taunt me.” A few medieval Hebrew
[42:10] 526 sn “Where is your God?” The enemies ask this same question in v. 3.
[42:11] 527 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[42:11] 528 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[42:11] 529 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
[42:11] 530 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.
[43:1] 531 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew
[43:1] 532 tn Or “argue my case.”
[43:1] 533 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] 534 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] 535 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
[43:2] 536 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] 537 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] 538 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
[43:3] 540 sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.
[43:3] 541 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
[43:3] 543 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
[43:3] 544 tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the
[43:4] 545 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”
[43:4] 546 tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
[43:4] 547 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
[43:5] 548 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[43:5] 549 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[43:5] 550 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
[43:5] 551 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.
[51:1] 552 sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586
[51:1] 553 tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”
[51:1] 554 tn Or “according to.”
[51:1] 555 tn Or “according to.”
[51:1] 556 tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”
[51:2] 557 tn Heb “Thoroughly wash me from my wrongdoing.”
[51:2] 558 sn In vv. 1b-2 the psalmist uses three different words to emphasize the multifaceted character and degree of his sin. Whatever one wants to call it (“rebellious acts,” “wrongdoing,” “sin”), he has done it and stands morally polluted in God’s sight. The same three words appear in Exod 34:7, which emphasizes that God is willing to forgive sin in all of its many dimensions. In v. 2 the psalmist compares forgiveness and restoration to physical cleansing. Perhaps he likens spiritual cleansing to the purification rites of priestly law.
[51:3] 560 tn Heb “and my sin [is] in front of me continually.”
[51:4] 561 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] 562 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] 563 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] 564 tn Heb “when you judge.”
[51:5] 565 tn Heb “Look, in wrongdoing I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The prefixed verbal form in the second line is probably a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive), stating a simple historical fact. The psalmist is not suggesting that he was conceived through an inappropriate sexual relationship (although the verse has sometimes been understood to mean that, or even that all sexual relationships are sinful). The psalmist’s point is that he has been a sinner from the very moment his personal existence began. By going back beyond the time of birth to the moment of conception, the psalmist makes his point more emphatically in the second line than in the first.
[51:6] 566 sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.
[51:6] 567 tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.
[51:6] 568 tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.
[51:6] 569 tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).
[51:6] sn You want me to possess wisdom. Here “wisdom” does not mean “intelligence” or “learning,” but refers to moral insight and skill.
[51:7] 570 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:7] 571 tn Heb “cleanse me with hyssop.” “Hyssop” was a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33) used to apply water (or blood) in purification rites (see Exod 12:22; Lev 14:4-6, 49-52; Num 19:6-18. The psalmist uses the language and imagery of such rites to describe spiritual cleansing through forgiveness.
[51:7] 572 tn After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates result.
[51:7] 573 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:7] 574 sn I will be whiter than snow. Whiteness here symbolizes the moral purity resulting from forgiveness (see Isa 1:18).
[51:8] 575 tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.
[51:8] 576 sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.
[51:8] 577 tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:9] 578 sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”
[51:9] 579 tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.
[51:10] 580 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.
[51:10] 581 tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”
[51:11] 582 tn Heb “do not cast me away from before you.”
[51:11] 583 sn Your Holy Spirit. The personal Spirit of God is mentioned frequently in the OT, but only here and in Isa 63:10-11 is he called “your/his Holy Spirit.”
[51:11] 584 sn Do not take…away. The psalmist expresses his fear that, due to his sin, God will take away the Holy Spirit from him. NT believers enjoy the permanent gift of the Holy Spirit and need not make such a request nor fear such a consequence. However, in the OT God’s Spirit empowered certain individuals for special tasks and only temporarily resided in them. For example, when God rejected Saul as king and chose David to replace him, the divine Spirit left Saul and came upon David (1 Sam 16:13-14).
[51:12] 585 tn Heb “and [with] a willing spirit sustain me.” The psalmist asks that God make him the kind of person who willingly obeys the divine commandments. The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:13] 586 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.
[51:13] 587 tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).
[51:13] 588 tn Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.
[51:14] 589 tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.
[51:14] 590 tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).
[51:15] 591 tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:15] 592 tn Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”
[51:16] 593 tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.
[51:16] 594 tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)
[51:16] 595 sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.
[51:17] 596 tn Heb “a broken spirit.”
[51:17] 597 tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”
[51:18] 599 tn Heb “do what is good for Zion in your favor.”
[51:18] 600 tn Or “Build.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[51:18] 601 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[51:19] 602 tn Or “desire, take delight in.”
[51:19] 603 tn Heb “then they will offer up bulls.” The third plural subject is indefinite.
[51:19] 604 sn Verses 18-19 appear to reflect the exilic period, when the city’s walls lay in ruins and the sacrificial system had been disrupted.
[54:1] 605 sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.
[54:1] 606 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.
[54:1] 607 tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”
[54:1] sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion the Ziphites informed Saul that David was hiding in their territory (see 1 Sam 23:19-20).
[54:1] 608 tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).
[54:1] 609 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
[54:2] 610 tn Heb “to the words of my mouth.”
[54:3] 611 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[54:3] 612 tn Heb “rise against me.”
[54:3] 613 tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”
[54:4] 615 tn Or “sustain my life.”
[54:5] 616 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
[54:5] 617 tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.
[54:5] 618 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
[54:6] 619 tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve/vow to praise.
[54:7] 620 tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the
[54:7] 621 tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.
[54:7] 622 tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”
[55:1] 623 sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.
[55:1] 624 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.
[55:1] 625 tn Heb “hide yourself from.”
[55:2] 626 tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.
[55:2] 627 tn Heb “in my complaint.”
[55:2] 628 tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (vÿ’ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (vÿ’ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).
[55:3] 629 tn Heb “because of [the] voice of [the] enemy.”
[55:3] 630 tn The singular forms “enemy” and “wicked” are collective or representative, as the plural verb forms in the second half of the verse indicate.
[55:3] 631 tn Heb “from before the pressure of the wicked.” Some suggest the meaning “screech” (note the parallel “voice”; cf. NEB “shrill clamour”; NRSV “clamor”) for the rare noun עָקָה (’aqah, “pressure”).
[55:3] 632 tn Heb “wickedness,” but here the term refers to the destructive effects of their wicked acts.
[55:3] 633 tc The verb form in the MT appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוֹט (mot, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in the Kethib (consonantal text) of Ps 140:10, where the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read. Here in Ps 55:3 it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). It is odd for “rain down” to be used with an abstract object like “wickedness,” but in Job 20:23 God “rains down” anger (unless one emends the text there; see BHS).
[55:4] 634 tn Heb “shakes, trembles.”
[55:4] 635 tn Heb “the terrors of death have fallen on me.”
[55:5] 636 tn Heb “fear and trembling enter into me.”
[55:5] 637 tn Heb “covers.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the preceding imperfect.
[55:6] 638 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the verbs in v. 5.
[55:8] 639 tn Heb “[the] wind [that] sweeps away.” The verb סָעָה (sa’ah, “sweep away”) occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 120).
[55:9] 640 tn Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallow” in the sense of “devour” or “destroy” (cf. KJV), but this may be a homonym meaning “confuse” (see BDB 118 s.v. בַּלַּע; HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע). “Their tongue” is the understood object of the verb (see the next line).
[55:9] 641 tn Heb “split their tongue,” which apparently means “confuse their speech,” or, more paraphrastically, “frustrate the plans they devise with their tongues.”
[55:10] 642 tn Heb “day and night they surround it, upon its walls.” Personified “violence and conflict” are the likely subjects. They are compared to watchmen on the city’s walls.
[55:10] 643 sn Wickedness and destruction. These terms are also closely associated in Ps 7:14.
[55:11] 644 tn Or “injury, harm.”
[55:12] 646 tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.
[55:13] 647 sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.
[55:13] 648 tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”
[55:13] 649 tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”
[55:14] 650 tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.
[55:15] 651 tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.
[55:15] 652 sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.
[55:17] 653 tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.
[55:17] 654 tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.
[55:17] 655 tn Heb “my voice.”
[55:18] 656 tn The perfect verbal form is here used rhetorically to indicate that the action is certain to take place (the so-called perfect of certitude).
[55:18] 657 tn Heb “he will redeem in peace my life from [those who] draw near to me.”
[55:18] 659 tn Heb “among many they are against me.” For other examples of the preposition עִמָּד (’immad) used in the sense of “at, against,” see HALOT 842 s.v.; BDB 767 s.v.; IBHS 219 §11.2.14b.
[55:19] 660 tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).
[55:19] 661 tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”
[55:20] 662 sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.
[55:20] 663 tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”
[55:20] 664 tc The form should probably be emended to an active participle (שֹׁלְמָיו, sholÿmayv) from the verbal root שָׁלַם (shalam, “be in a covenant of peace with”). Perhaps the translation “his friends” suggests too intimate a relationship. Another option is to translate, “he attacks those who made agreements with him.”
[55:20] 665 tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”
[55:21] 666 tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.
[55:21] 667 tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”
[55:21] 668 tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”
[55:22] 669 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.
[55:22] 670 tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.
[55:22] 671 tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”
[55:23] 672 tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).
[55:23] 673 tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).
[55:23] 674 tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”
[55:23] 675 tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”
[56:1] 676 sn Psalm 56. Despite the threats of his enemies, the psalmist is confident the Lord will keep his promise to protect and deliver him.
[56:1] 677 tn The literal meaning of this phrase is “silent dove, distant ones.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a type of musical instrument.
[56:1] 678 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 57-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
[56:1] 679 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him and took him to King Achish of Gath (see 1 Sam 21:11-15).
[56:1] 680 tn According to BDB 983 s.v. II שָׁאַף, the verb is derived from שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to trample, crush”) rather than the homonymic verb “pant after.”
[56:1] 681 tn Heb “a fighter.” The singular is collective for his enemies (see vv. 5-6). The Qal of לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) also occurs in Ps 35:1.
[56:1] 682 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the continuing nature of the enemies’ attacks.
[56:2] 683 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 59:10.
[56:2] 685 tn Some take the Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “on high; above”) as an adverb modifying the preceding participle and translate, “proudly” (cf. NASB; NIV “in their pride”). The present translation assumes the term is a divine title here. The
[56:3] 686 tn Heb “[in] a day.”
[56:4] 687 tn Heb “in God I boast, his word.” The syntax in the Hebrew text is difficult. (1) The line could be translated, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” Such a translation assumes that the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and that “his word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. Another option (2) is to translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” is a song of praise. (In this view the pronominal suffix “his” must be omitted as in v. 10.) The present translation reflects yet another option (3): In this case “I praise his word” is a parenthetical statement, with “his word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in the next line, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.
[56:4] 688 tn Heb “flesh,” which refers by metonymy to human beings (see v. 11, where “man” is used in this same question), envisioned here as mortal and powerless before God.
[56:4] 689 tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.
[56:5] 690 tn Heb “my affairs they disturb.” For other instances of דָּבָר (davar) meaning “affairs, business,” see BDB 183 s.v.. The Piel of עָצַב (’atsav, “to hurt”) occurs only here and in Isa 63:10, where it is used of “grieving” (or “offending”) the Lord’s holy Spirit. Here in Ps 56:5, the verb seems to carry the nuance “disturb, upset,” in the sense of “cause trouble.”
[56:5] 691 tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”
[56:6] 692 tn The verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 59:3.
[56:6] 695 tn Heb “according to,” in the sense of “inasmuch as; since,” or “when; while.”
[56:6] 696 tn Heb “they wait [for] my life.”
[56:7] 697 tc Heb “because of wickedness, deliverance to them.” As it stands, the MT makes no sense. The negative particle אַיִן (’ayin, “there is not,” which is due to dittography of the immediately preceding אָוֶן, ’aven, “wickedness”), should probably be added before “deliverance” (see BHS, note a). The presence of an imperative in the next line (note “bring down”) suggests that this line should be translated as a prayer as well, “may there not be deliverance to them.”
[56:7] 698 tn Heb “in anger.” The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[56:7] 699 tn Or perhaps “people” in a general sense.
[56:8] 700 tn Heb “my wandering you count, you.” The Hebrew term נֹד (nod, “wandering,” derived from the verbal root נוֹד, nod, “to wander”; cf. NASB) here refers to the psalmist’s “changeable circumstances of life” and may be translated “misery.” The verb סָפַר (safar, “count”) probably carries the nuance “assess” here. Cf. NIV “my lament”; NRSV “my tossings.”
[56:8] 701 tn Traditionally “your bottle.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20). If such a container is metaphorically in view here, then the psalmist seems to be asking God to store up his tears as a reminder of his suffering.
[56:8] 702 tn The word “recorded” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The rhetorical question assumes a positive response (see the first line of the verse).
[56:9] 703 tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.
[56:9] 704 tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”
[56:10] 705 tn Heb “in God I praise a word.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult. The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except that the third person pronominal suffix is omitted here, where the text has simply “a word” instead of “his word.” (1) One could translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” refers to a song of praise. (2) If one assumes that God’s word is in view, as in v. 4, then one option is to translate, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” In this case the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and “[his] word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. (3) The present translation reflects another option: In this case “I praise [his] word” is a parenthetical statement, with “[his] word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in v. 11, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.
[56:10] 706 tn The phrase “in the
[56:11] 707 tn The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except “flesh” is used there instead of “man.”
[56:11] 708 tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.
[56:12] 709 tn Heb “upon me, O God, [are] your vows.”
[56:12] 710 tn Heb “I will repay thank-offerings to you.”
[56:13] 711 tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the
[56:13] 712 tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.
[56:13] 713 tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.
[56:13] 714 tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.
[57:1] 715 sn Psalm 57. The psalmist asks for God’s protection and expresses his confidence that his ferocious enemies will be destroyed by their own schemes.
[57:1] 716 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 58-59, 75.
[57:1] 717 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56, 58-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
[57:1] 718 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when he fled from Saul and hid in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3.
[57:1] 719 tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
[57:1] 720 sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).
[57:2] 721 tn Heb “to God Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.
[57:2] 722 tn Or “avenges in favor of.”
[57:3] 723 tn Heb “may he send from heaven and deliver me.” The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. The second verb, which has a vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, probably indicates purpose. Another option is to take the forms as imperfects expressing confidence, “he will send from heaven and deliver me” (cf. NRSV).
[57:3] 724 tn Heb “he hurls insults, one who crushes me.” The translation assumes that this line identifies those from whom the psalmist seeks deliverance. (The singular is representative; the psalmist is surrounded by enemies, see v. 4.) Another option is to understand God as the subject of the verb חָרַף (kharaf), which could then be taken as a homonym of the more common root חָרַף (“insult”) meaning “confuse.” In this case “one who crushes me” is the object of the verb. One might translate, “he [God] confuses my enemies.”
[57:4] 725 tn The cohortative form אֶשְׁכְּבָה (’eshkÿvah, “I lie down”) is problematic, for it does not seem to carry one of the normal functions of the cohortative (resolve or request). One possibility is that the form here is a “pseudo-cohortative” used here in a gnomic sense (IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3b).
[57:4] 726 tn The Hebrew verb לָהַט (lahat) is here understood as a hapax legomenon meaning “devour” (see HALOT 521 s.v. II להט), a homonym of the more common verb meaning “to burn.” A more traditional interpretation takes the verb from this latter root and translates, “those who are aflame” (see BDB 529 s.v.; cf. NASB “those who breathe forth fire”).
[57:4] 727 tn Heb “my life, in the midst of lions, I lie down, devouring ones, sons of mankind, their teeth a spear and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.” The syntax of the verse is difficult. Another option is to take “my life” with the preceding verse. For this to make sense, one must add a verb, perhaps “and may he deliver” (cf. the LXX), before the phrase. One might then translate, “May God send his loyal love and faithfulness and deliver my life.” If one does take “my life” with v. 4, then the parallelism of v. 5 is altered and one might translate: “in the midst of lions I lie down, [among] men who want to devour me, whose teeth….”
[57:5] 728 tn Or “be exalted.”
[57:5] 729 tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)
[57:6] 730 tn Heb “for my feet.”
[57:6] 731 tn Heb “my life bends low.” 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).
[57:6] 732 tn Heb “before me.”
[57:6] 733 tn The perfect form is used rhetorically here to express the psalmist’s certitude. The demise of the enemies is so certain that he can speak of it as already accomplished.
[57:7] 734 tn Or perhaps “confident”; Heb “my heart is steadfast.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and/or emotions.
[57:8] 735 tn Heb “glory,” but that makes little sense in the context. Some view כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”
[57:8] 736 tn BDB 1007 s.v. שַׁחַר takes “dawn” as an adverbial accusative, though others understand it as a personified direct object. “Dawn” is used metaphorically for the time of deliverance and vindication the psalmist anticipates. When salvation “dawns,” the psalmist will “wake up” in praise.
[57:9] 737 tn Or “the peoples.”
[57:10] 738 tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”
[57:11] 739 tn Or “be exalted.”
[57:11] 740 tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)
[59:1] 741 sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.
[59:1] 742 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-58, 75.
[59:1] 743 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-58, 60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
[59:1] 744 tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”
[59:1] sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when Saul sent assassins to surround David’s house and kill him in the morning (see 1 Sam 19:11). However, the psalm itself mentions foreign enemies (vv. 5, 8). Perhaps these references reflect a later adaptation of an original Davidic psalm.
[59:1] 745 tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”
[59:1] 746 tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”
[59:2] 747 tn Heb “from the workers of wickedness.”
[59:2] 748 tn Heb “from men of bloodshed.”
[59:3] 750 tn The Hebrew verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 56:8.
[59:3] 751 sn The point is that the psalmist’s enemies have no justifiable reason for attacking him. He has neither rebelled or sinned against the
[59:4] 752 tn Heb “without sin.”
[59:4] 753 tn Heb “they run and they are determined.”
[59:4] 754 tn Heb “arise to meet me and see.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to meet; to encounter”) here carries the nuance of “to help.”
[59:5] 755 tn Heb “
[59:5] 756 tn Heb “wake up to punish” (see Pss 35:23; 44:23).
[59:6] 757 tn Or “howl”; or “bark.”
[59:6] 758 tn Heb “go around.”
[59:7] 759 tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”
[59:7] 760 tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.
[59:8] 761 sn Laugh in disgust. See Pss 2:4; 37:13.
[59:8] 762 tn Or “scoff at”; or “deride”; or “mock” (see Ps 2:4).
[59:9] 763 tc Heb “his strength, for you I will watch.” “His strength” should be emended to “my strength” (see v. 17). Some also emend אֶשְׁמֹרָה (’eshmorah, “I will watch”) to אֱזַמֵּרָה (’ezammerah, “I will sing praises [to you]”) See v. 17.
[59:9] 764 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
[59:10] 765 tn Heb “the God of my [Qere (marginal reading); the Kethib (consonantal text) has “his”] loyal love will meet me.”
[59:10] 766 tn Heb “will cause me to look upon.”
[59:10] 767 tn Heb “those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 56:2.
[59:11] 768 tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”
[59:11] sn My people might forget the lesson. Swift, sudden destruction might be quickly forgotten. The psalmist wants God’s judgment to be prolonged so that it might be a continual reminder of divine justice.
[59:11] 769 tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”
[59:12] 770 tn Heb “the sin of their mouth [is] the word of their lips.”
[59:14] 771 tn Or “howl”; or “bark.”
[59:14] 772 tn Heb “go around.”
[59:15] 773 tn Heb “if they are not full, they stay through the night.”
[59:16] 774 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
[59:16] 775 tn Heb “and my shelter in the day of my distress.”
[59:17] 776 tn Heb “my strength, to you I will sing praises.”
[59:17] 777 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
[59:17] 778 tn Heb “the God of my loyal love.”
[63:1] 779 sn Psalm 63. The psalmist expresses his intense desire to be in God’s presence and confidently affirms that God will judge his enemies.
[63:1] 780 sn According to the psalm superscription David wrote the psalm while in the “wilderness of Judah.” Perhaps this refers to the period described in 1 Sam 23-24 or to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam 15:23.
[63:1] 781 tn Or “I will seek you.”
[63:1] 783 tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” This may picture the land as “faint” or “weary,” or it may allude to the effect this dry desert has on those who are forced to live in it.
[63:2] 784 tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).
[63:2] 785 tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”
[63:2] 786 tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.
[63:3] 787 tn This line is understood as giving the basis for the praise promised in the following line. Another option is to take the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) as asseverative/emphasizing, “Indeed, your loyal love is better” (cf. NEB, which leaves the particle untranslated).
[63:3] 788 tn The word “experiencing” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist does not speak here of divine loyal love in some abstract sense, but of loyal love revealed and experienced.
[63:4] 789 tn Or perhaps “then.”
[63:4] 790 sn I will lift up my hands. Lifting up one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19) or respect (Ps 119:48).
[63:5] 791 tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”
[63:5] 793 tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”
[63:6] 794 tn The Hebrew term אִם (’im) is used here in the sense of “when; whenever,” as in Ps 78:34.
[63:7] 795 tn Or “[source of] help.”
[63:7] 796 tn Heb “in the shadow of your wings.”
[63:8] 797 tn Or “I.” 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).
[63:8] 798 tn Heb “clings after.” The expression means “to pursue with determination” (see Judg 20:45; 1 Sam 14:22; 1 Chr 10:2; Jer 42:16).
[63:9] 799 tn Heb “but they for destruction seek my life.” The pronoun “they” must refer here to the psalmist’s enemies, referred to at this point for the first time in the psalm.
[63:9] 800 sn The depths of the earth refers here to the underworld dwelling place of the dead (see Ezek 26:20; 31:14, 16, 18; 32:18, 24). See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 167.
[63:10] 801 tn Heb “they will deliver him over to the sword.” The third masculine plural subject must be indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f) and the singular pronominal suffix either representative or distributive (emphasizing that each one will be so treated). Active verbs with indefinite subjects may be translated as passives with the object (in the Hebrew text) as subject (in the translation).
[63:10] 802 tn Heb “they will be [the] portion of jackals”; traditionally, “of foxes.”
[63:11] 803 sn The psalmist probably refers to himself in the third person here.
[63:11] 804 tn Heb “who swears [an oath] by him.”
[63:11] 805 tn The Niphal of this verb occurs only here and in Gen 8:2, where it is used of God “stopping” or “damming up” the great deep as he brought the flood to an end.
[64:1] 806 sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.
[64:1] 808 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.
[64:1] 809 tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.
[64:2] 810 tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”
[64:3] 811 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[64:3] 812 tn Heb “a bitter word.”
[64:4] 813 tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.
[64:4] 814 tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[64:5] 815 tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”
[64:5] 816 tn Heb “they report about hiding.”
[64:5] 818 tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).
[64:6] 819 tn Heb “search out, examine,” which here means (by metonymy) “devise.”
[64:6] 820 tc The MT has תַּמְנוּ (tamnu, “we are finished”), a Qal perfect first common plural form from the verbal root תָּמַם (tamam). Some understand this as the beginning of a quotation of the enemies’ words and translate, “we have completed,” but the Hiphil would seem to be required in this case. The present translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[64:6] 821 tn Heb “a searched-out search,” which is understood as referring here to a thoroughly planned plot to destroy the psalmist.
[64:6] 822 tn Heb “and the inner part of man, and a heart [is] deep.” The point seems to be that a man’s inner thoughts are incapable of being discovered. No one is a mind reader! Consequently the psalmist is vulnerable to his enemies’ well-disguised plots.
[64:7] 823 tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive is normally used in narrative contexts to describe completed past actions. It is possible that the conclusion to the psalm (vv. 7-10) was added to the lament after God’s judgment of the wicked in response to the psalmist’s lament (vv. 1-6). The translation assumes that these verses are anticipatory and express the psalmist’s confidence that God would eventually judge the wicked. The psalmist uses a narrative style as a rhetorical device to emphasize his certitude. See GKC 329-30 §111.w.
[64:7] 824 tn The perfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s certitude about the coming demise of the wicked.
[64:7] 825 tn The translation follows the traditional accentuation of the MT. Another option is to translate, “But God will shoot them down with an arrow, suddenly they will be wounded” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[64:8] 826 tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.
[64:8] 827 tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.
[64:9] 828 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[64:9] 829 tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.
[64:10] 830 tn Heb “upright in heart.”
[64:10] 831 tn That is, about the
[69:1] 832 sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.
[69:1] 833 tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.
[69:1] 834 tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.
[69:2] 835 tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”
[69:2] 836 tn Heb “have entered.”
[69:3] 837 tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”
[69:3] 838 tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.
[69:4] 839 tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).
[69:4] 840 tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).
[69:4] 841 tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.
[69:4] sn They make me repay what I did not steal. The psalmist’s enemies falsely accuse him and hold him accountable for alleged crimes he did not even commit.
[69:5] 842 tn Heb “you know my foolishness.”
[69:5] 843 sn The psalmist is the first to admit that he is not perfect. But even so, he is innocent of the allegations which his enemies bring against him (v. 5b). God, who is aware of his foolish sins and guilt, can testify to the truth of his claim.
[69:6] 844 tn Heb “O Master,
[69:7] 845 tn Heb “carry, bear.”
[69:7] 846 tn Heb “on account of you.”
[69:7] 847 tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”
[69:8] 848 tn Heb “and I am estranged to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.”
[69:9] 849 tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.
[69:9] 850 tn Or “devotion to.”
[69:9] 851 sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.
[69:9] 852 tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”
[69:9] sn Jn 2:17 applies the first half of this verse to Jesus’ ministry in the context of John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple.
[69:10] 853 sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.
[69:10] 854 tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”
[69:11] 855 tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”
[69:12] 856 tn Heb “the mocking songs of the drinkers of beer.”
[69:13] 857 tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O
[69:13] 858 tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”
[69:14] 859 tn Heb “let me be delivered.”
[69:15] 860 tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).
[69:15] 861 tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”
[69:16] 862 tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”
[69:17] 863 tn Heb “do not hide your face from.” The Hebrew idiom “hide the face” can (1) mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
[69:18] 865 tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the
[69:19] 866 tn Heb “before you [are] all my enemies.”
[69:20] 867 tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.
[69:20] 868 tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.
[69:20] 870 tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.
[69:21] 871 tn According to BDB 912 s.v. II רֹאשׁ the term can mean “a bitter and poisonous plant.”
[69:21] 872 sn John 19:28-30 appears to understand Jesus’ experience on the cross as a fulfillment of this passage (or Ps 22:15). See the study note on the word “thirsty” in John 19:28.
[69:22] 873 tc Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the MT is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (ulÿshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. NIV).
[69:23] 874 tn Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”
[69:23] 875 tn Heb “make their hips shake continually.”
[69:24] 876 tn Heb “anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger.
[69:24] 877 tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971), 17-81.
[69:25] 878 tn Heb “in their tents may there not be one who dwells.”
[69:25] sn In Acts 1:20 Peter applies the language of this verse to Judas’ experience. By changing the pronouns from plural to singular, he is able to apply the ancient curse, pronounced against the psalmist’s enemies, to Judas in particular.
[69:26] 879 tn Or “persecute”; Heb “chase.”
[69:26] 880 tn Heb “for you, the one whom you strike, they chase.”
[69:26] 881 tn Heb “they announce the pain of your wounded ones” (i.e., “the ones whom you wounded,” as the parallel line makes clear).
[69:26] sn The psalmist is innocent of the false charges made by his enemies (v. 4), but he is also aware of his sinfulness (v. 5) and admits that he experiences divine discipline (v. 26) despite his devotion to God (v. 9). Here he laments that his enemies take advantage of such divine discipline by harassing and slandering him. They “kick him while he’s down,” as the expression goes.
[69:27] 882 tn Heb “place sin upon their sin.”
[69:27] 883 tn Heb “let them not come into your vindication.”
[69:28] 884 tn Heb “let them be wiped out of the scroll of the living.”
[69:28] sn The phrase the scroll of the living occurs only here in the OT. It pictures a scroll or census list containing the names of the citizens of a community. When an individual died, that person’s name was removed from the list. So this curse is a very vivid way of asking that the enemies die.
[69:28] 885 tn Heb “and with the godly let them not be written.”
[69:28] sn Do not let their names be listed with the godly. This curse pictures a scroll in which God records the names of his loyal followers. The psalmist makes the point that his enemies have no right to be included in this list of the godly.
[69:29] 886 tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”
[69:30] 887 tn Heb “I will praise the name of God with a song.”
[69:30] 888 tn Heb “I will magnify him with thanks.”
[69:32] 889 sn You who seek God refers to those who seek to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him (see Ps 53:2).
[69:32] 890 tn Heb “may your heart[s] live.” See Ps 22:26.
[69:33] 891 tn Heb “his prisoners he does not despise.”
[69:35] 892 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[69:35] 893 tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[69:36] 894 tn Heb “the lovers of his name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to God (cf. v. 35). See Pss 5:11; 119:132; Isa 56:6.
[69:36] 895 sn Verses 35-36 appear to be an addition to the psalm from the time of the exile. The earlier lament reflects an individual’s situation, while these verses seem to reflect a communal application of it.
[70:1] 896 sn Psalm 70. This psalm is almost identical to Ps 40:13-17. The psalmist asks for God’s help and for divine retribution against his enemies.
[70:1] 897 tn Heb “to cause to remember.” The same form, a Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the superscription of Ps 38. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).
[70:1] 898 tn Heb “O God, to rescue me.” A main verb is obviously missing. The verb רָצָה (ratsah, “be willing”) should be supplied (see Ps 40:13). Ps 40:13 uses the divine name “
[70:1] 899 tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.
[70:2] 900 tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed, the ones seeking my life.” Ps 40:14 has “together” after “ashamed,” and “to snatch it away” after “my life.”
[70:2] 901 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.
[70:2] sn See Ps 35:4 for a similar prayer.
[70:3] 902 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive in this imprecation.
[70:3] 903 tn Heb “May they be turned back according to their shame, those who say, ‘Aha! Aha!’” Ps 40:15 has the verb “humiliated” instead of “turned back” and adds “to me” after “say.”
[70:4] 904 tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by God.
[70:4] 905 tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing on the godly.
[70:4] 906 tn Ps 40:16 uses the divine name “
[70:4] 907 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the
[70:5] 908 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
[70:5] 909 tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”
[70:5] 910 tn Ps 40:17 has “my God” instead of “
[71:1] 911 sn Psalm 71. The psalmist prays for divine intervention and expresses his confidence that God will protect and vindicate him. The first three verses are very similar to Ps 31:1-3a.
[71:2] 912 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me and deliver me.” Ps 31:1 omits “and deliver me.”
[71:2] 913 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
[71:2] 914 tn Ps 31:2 adds “quickly” before “deliver.”
[71:3] 915 tc Heb “become for me a rocky summit of a dwelling place.” The Hebrew term מָעוֹן (ma’on, “dwelling place”) should probably be emended to מָעוֹז (ma’oz, “refuge”; see Ps 31:2).
[71:3] 916 tc Heb “to enter continually, you commanded to deliver me.” The Hebrew phrase לָבוֹא תָּמִיד צִוִּיתָ (lavo’ tamid tsivvita, “to enter continually, you commanded”) should be emended to לְבֵית מְצוּדוֹת (lÿvet mÿtsudot, “a house of strongholds”; see Ps 31:2).
[71:3] 917 sn You are my high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.
[71:5] 919 tn Heb “for you [are] my hope.”
[71:5] 920 tn Heb “O
[71:6] 921 tn Heb “from the womb.”
[71:6] 922 tc The form in the MT is derived from גָזָה (gazah, “to cut off”), perhaps picturing God as the one who severed the psalmist’s umbilical cord. Many interpreters and translators prefer to emend the text to גֹחִי (gokhiy), from גוּח (gukh) or גִיח, (gikh, “pull out”; see Ps 22:9; cf. the present translation) or to עוּזִּי (’uzziy, “my strength”; cf. NEB “my protector since I left my mother’s womb”).
[71:6] 923 tn Heb “in you [is] my praise continually.”
[71:7] 924 tn Heb “like a sign [i.e., portent or bad omen] I am to many.”
[71:8] 925 tn Heb “my mouth is filled [with] your praise, all the day [with] your splendor.”
[71:9] 926 tn Heb “do not cast me away at the time of old age.”
[71:10] 927 tn Heb “those who watch for my life consult together.”
[71:12] 929 tn Heb “hurry to my help.”
[71:13] 930 tn Heb “those who seek my harm.”
[71:14] 931 tn Heb “and I add to all your praise.”
[71:15] 932 tn Heb “my mouth declares your vindication, all the day your deliverance.”
[71:15] 933 tn Heb “though I do not know [the] numbers,” that is, the tally of God’s just and saving acts. HALOT 768 s.v. סְפֹרוֹת understands the plural noun to mean “the art of writing.”
[71:16] 934 tn Heb “I will come with.”
[71:17] 935 tn Heb “and until now I am declaring.”
[71:18] 936 tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”
[71:18] 937 tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.
[71:19] 938 tn Heb “your justice, O God, [is] unto the height.” The Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) is here a title for the sky/heavens.
[71:19] sn Extends to the skies above. Similar statements are made in Pss 36:5 and 57:10.
[71:19] 939 tn Heb “you who have done great things.”
[71:19] 940 tn Or “Who is like you?”
[71:20] 941 tn Heb “you who have caused me to see many harmful distresses.”
[71:20] 942 tn Heb “you return, you give me life.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will revive me once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[71:20] 943 tn Heb “you return, you bring me up.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will bring me up once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[71:21] 944 tn Heb “increase my greatness.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer or wish. The psalmist’s request for “greatness” (or “honor”) is not a boastful, self-serving prayer for prominence, but, rather, a request that God would vindicate by elevating him over those who are trying to humiliate him.
[71:21] 945 tn The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.)
[71:22] 946 tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[71:22] 947 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The
[71:23] 948 tn Or “when.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) has an emphasizing (asseverative) function here.
[71:23] 949 tn Heb “and my life [or “soul”] which you will have redeemed.” The perfect verbal form functions here as a future perfect. The psalmist anticipates praising God, for God will have rescued him by that time.
[71:24] 950 tn Heb “those who seek my harm.”
[71:24] 951 tn Heb “will have become embarrassed and ashamed.” The perfect verbal forms function here as future perfects, indicating future actions which will precede chronologically the action expressed by the main verb in the preceding line.
[77:1] 952 sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.
[77:1] 953 tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.
[77:1] 954 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).
[77:2] 955 tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.
[77:2] 956 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] 957 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).
[77:3] 958 tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).
[77:4] 959 tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).
[77:4] 960 tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.
[77:5] 961 tn Heb “the years of antiquity.”
[77:6] 962 tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.
[77:7] 963 tn As in vv. 4 and 6a, the words of vv. 7-9 are understood as a quotation of what the psalmist said earlier. Therefore the words “I asked” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[77:8] 964 tn Heb “word,” which may refer here to God’s word of promise (note the reference to “loyal love” in the preceding line).
[77:10] 965 tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
[77:10] 966 tc Heb “And I said, ‘This is my wounding, the changing of the right hand of the Most High.’” The form חַלּוֹתִי (khallotiy) appears to be a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלַל (khalal, “to pierce; to wound”). The present translation assumes an emendation to חֲלוֹתִי (khalotiy), a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלָה (khalah, “be sick, weak”). The form שְׁנוֹת (shÿnot) is understood as a Qal infinitive construct from שָׁנָה (shanah, “to change”) rather than a plural noun form, “years” (see v. 5). “Right hand” here symbolizes by metonymy God’s power and activity. The psalmist observes that his real problem is theological in nature. His experience suggests that the sovereign Lord has abandoned him and become inactive. However, this goes against the grain of his most cherished beliefs.
[77:11] 967 tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”
[77:11] sn The psalmist refuses to allow skepticism to win out. God has revealed himself to his people in tangible, incontrovertible ways in the past and the psalmist vows to remember the historical record as a source of hope for the future.
[77:13] 968 sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist’s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God’s work in Israel’s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God’s help (see v. 1).
[77:13] 969 tn Heb “O God, in holiness [is] your way.” God’s “way” here refers to his actions. “Holiness” is used here in the sense of “set apart, unique,” rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God’s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.
[77:13] 970 tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”
[77:15] 972 tn Heb “with [your] arm.”
[77:16] 973 tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.
[77:16] 974 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
[77:16] 975 tn The words “of the sea” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[77:16] 976 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
[77:17] 978 tn Heb “a sound the clouds gave.”
[77:17] 979 tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the
[77:18] 980 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
[77:18] sn Verses 16-18 depict the
[77:19] 981 tn Heb “in the sea [was] your way.”
[77:19] 982 tn Heb “and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.”
[77:19] 983 tn Heb “and your footprints were not known.”
[86:1] 984 sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.
[86:1] 985 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
[86:3] 987 tn Or “show me favor.”
[86:4] 988 tn Heb “the soul of your servant.”
[86:4] 989 tn Heb “I lift up my soul.”
[86:8] 992 tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”
[86:9] 993 tn Or “bow down before you.”
[86:11] 994 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The
[86:11] 995 tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The
[86:11] 996 tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).
[86:13] 998 tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”
[86:13] 999 tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.
[86:13] 1000 tn Or “lower Sheol.”
[86:14] 1001 tn Heb “rise up against me.”
[86:14] 1002 tn Or “assembly.”
[86:14] 1003 tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.
[86:15] 1004 tn Heb “slow to anger.”
[86:15] 1005 tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”
[86:15] sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.
[86:16] 1006 tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the
[86:17] 1007 tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.
[86:17] 1008 tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.
[86:17] 1009 tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the
[102:1] 1010 sn Psalm 102. The psalmist laments his oppressed state, but longs for a day when the Lord will restore Jerusalem and vindicate his suffering people.
[102:1] 1011 tn Heb “and may my cry for help come to you.”
[102:2] 1012 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble.” The idiom “to hide the face” can mean “to ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “to reject” (see Pss 29:7; 30:7; 88:14).
[102:2] 1013 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
[102:3] 1014 tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
[102:3] 1015 tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.
[102:4] 1016 tn Heb “struck, attacked.”
[102:4] 1017 tn Heb “I forget.”
[102:4] 1018 sn I am unable to eat food. During his time of mourning, the psalmist refrained from eating. In the following verse he describes metaphorically the physical effects of fasting.
[102:5] 1019 tn Heb “from the sound of my groaning my bone[s] stick to my flesh.” The preposition at the beginning of the verse is causal; the phrase “sound of my groaning” is metonymic for the anxiety that causes the groaning. The point seems to be this: Anxiety (which causes the psalmist to groan) keeps him from eating (v. 4). This physical deprivation in turn makes him emaciated – he is turned to “skin and bones,” so to speak.
[102:6] 1020 tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). Modern translations have frequently rendered this as some type of owl (NIV, REB “desert owl”; NRSV “owl”).
[102:6] 1021 tn The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. NIV, REB “owl”; NRSV “little owl”).
[102:6] 1022 sn By comparing himself to a screech owl among the ruins, the psalmist may be highlighting his loneliness (see v. 7), though he may also be comparing his cries for help to the owl’s screech.
[102:7] 1023 tn This probably refers to the psalmist’s inability to sleep. Another option is to translate, “I keep watch,” in which case it might refer to watching for a response from the
[102:8] 1024 tn Heb “by me they swear.” When the psalmist’s enemies call judgment down on others, they hold the psalmist up as a prime example of what they desire their enemies to become.
[102:9] 1025 sn Mourners would sometimes put ashes on their head or roll in ashes as a sign of mourning (see 2 Sam 13:19; Job 2:8; Isa 58:5).
[102:9] 1026 tn Heb “weeping.”
[102:11] 1028 tn Heb “my days [are] like an extended [or “lengthening”] shadow,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness.
[102:12] 1029 tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.
[102:12] 1030 tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”
[102:13] 1031 tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”
[102:14] 1033 tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.
[102:14] 1034 tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.
[102:15] 1035 tn Heb “will fear the name of the
[102:15] 1036 tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
[102:17] 1037 tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).
[102:17] 1038 tn Heb “despise.”
[102:17] 1039 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.
[102:18] 1040 tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[102:19] 1041 tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”
[102:19] 1042 tn The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.
[102:20] 1043 tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.
[102:21] 1044 tn Heb “his praise.”
[102:21] 1045 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[102:22] 1046 tn “and the kingdoms to serve the
[102:23] 1047 tn Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b-24).
[102:24] 1048 tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”
[102:24] 1049 tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”
[102:26] 1051 tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.
[102:27] 1052 tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the
[102:28] 1053 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
[102:28] 1054 tn Heb “before you will be established.”
[120:1] 1055 sn Psalm 120. The genre and structure of this psalm are uncertain. It begins like a thanksgiving psalm, with a brief notice that God has heard the psalmist’s prayer for help and has intervened. But v. 2 is a petition for help, followed by a taunt directed toward enemies (vv. 3-4) and a lament (vv. 5-7). Perhaps vv. 2-7 recall the psalmist’s prayer when he cried out to the Lord.
[120:1] 1056 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
[120:2] 1057 tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the introductory note for this psalm.
[120:2] 1059 tn Heb “from a lip of falsehood.”
[120:2] 1060 tn Heb “from a tongue of deception.”
[120:3] 1061 tn Heb “What will he give to you, and what will he add to you, O tongue of deception?” The psalmist addresses his deceptive enemies. The
[120:4] 1062 tn The words “here’s how” are supplied in the translation as a clarification. In v. 4 the psalmist answers the question he raises in v. 3.
[120:4] 1063 tn Heb “with coals of the wood of the broom plant.” The wood of the broom plant was used to make charcoal, which in turn was used to fuel the fire used to forge the arrowheads.
[120:5] 1064 tn Or “woe to me.” The Hebrew term אוֹיָה (’oyah, “woe”) which occurs only here, is an alternate form of אוֹי (’oy).
[120:5] 1065 tn Heb “I live as a resident alien.”
[120:5] 1066 sn Meshech was located in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). Kedar was located in the desert to east-southeast of Israel. Because of the reference to Kedar, it is possible that Ps 120:5 refers to a different Meshech, perhaps one associated with the individual mentioned as a descendant of Aram in 1 Chr 1:17. (However, the LXX in 1 Chr 1:17 follows the parallel text in Gen 10:23, which reads “Mash,” not Meshech.) It is, of course, impossible that the psalmist could have been living in both the far north and the east at the same time. For this reason one must assume that he is recalling his experience as a wanderer among the nations or that he is using the geographical terms metaphorically and sarcastically to suggest that the enemies who surround him are like the barbarians who live in these distant regions. For a discussion of the problem, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 146.
[120:6] 1067 tn The singular participial form probably has a representative function here. The psalmist envisions the typical hater of peace who represents the entire category of such individuals.
[120:7] 1068 tn Heb “I, peace.”
[120:7] 1069 tn Heb “they [are] for war.”
[130:1] 1070 sn Psalm 130. The psalmist, confident of the Lord’s forgiveness, cries out to the Lord for help in the midst of his suffering and urges Israel to do the same.
[130:1] 1071 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
[130:1] 1072 tn Heb “depths,” that is, deep waters (see Ps 69:2, 14; Isa 51:10), a metaphor for the life-threatening danger faced by the psalmist.
[130:2] 1073 tn Heb “my voice.”
[130:2] 1074 tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”
[130:3] 1075 tn Heb “observe.”
[130:3] 1076 tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”
[130:4] 1078 tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”
[130:4] 1079 tn Or “consequently you are.”
[130:5] 1081 tn Or “wait for.”
[130:5] 1082 tn Heb “my soul waits.”
[130:5] 1083 tn Heb “his word.”
[130:6] 1084 tn Heb “my soul for the master.”
[130:6] 1085 tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[130:7] 1086 tn Heb “for with the
[130:7] 1087 tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”
[130:8] 1089 tn The Hebrew noun עָוֹן (’avon) can refer to sin, the guilt sin produces, or the consequences of sin. Only here is the noun collocated with the verb פָּדָה (padah, “to redeem; to deliver”). The psalmist may refer to forgiveness per se (v. 4), but the emphasis in this context is likely on deliverance from the national consequences of sin. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 192.
[140:1] 1090 sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.
[140:1] 1091 tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).
[140:1] 1092 tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).
[140:2] 1093 tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”
[140:2] 1094 tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.
[140:3] 1095 tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”
[140:3] 1096 tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.
[140:4] 1099 tn Heb “to push down my steps.”
[140:5] 1100 tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).
[140:7] 1101 tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”
[140:8] 1103 tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”
[140:8] 1104 tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).
[140:8] 1105 tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).
[140:9] 1106 tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.
[140:10] 1107 tn The verb form in the Kethib (consonantal Hebrew text) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוּט (mut, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in Ps 55:3, where it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). In Ps 140:10 the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read.
[140:10] 1108 tn Heb “into bottomless pits, they will not arise.” The translation assumes that the preposition -בְּ (bet) has the nuance “from” here. Another option is to connect the line with what precedes, take the final clause as an asyndetic relative clause, and translate, “into bottomless pits [from which] they cannot arise.” The Hebrew noun מַהֲמֹרָה (mahamorah, “bottomless pit”) occurs only here in the OT.
[140:11] 1109 tn Heb “a man of a tongue.”
[140:11] 1110 tn Heb “be established in.”
[140:11] 1111 tn Heb “for blows.” The Hebrew noun מַדְחֵפֹה (madkhefoh, “blow”) occurs only here in the OT.
[140:12] 1112 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[140:12] 1113 tn Heb “and the just cause of the poor.”
[141:1] 1114 sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.
[141:2] 1115 tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”
[141:3] 1116 tn Heb “door.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[141:3] 1117 sn My mouth…my lips. The psalmist asks God to protect him from speaking inappropriately or sinfully.
[141:4] 1118 tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”
[141:4] 1119 tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”
[141:4] 1120 sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.
[141:5] 1121 tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.
[141:5] 1122 sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.
[141:5] 1123 tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.
[141:6] 1124 tn Heb “they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. “Their judges” could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.
[141:6] 1125 tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the verb “will listen,” and “my words” are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the phrase “are pleasant.” The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished.
[141:7] 1126 tn Heb “like splitting and breaking open in the earth.” The meaning of the statement and the point of the comparison are not entirely clear. Perhaps the psalmist is suggesting that he and other godly individuals are as good as dead; their bones are scattered about like dirt that is dug up and tossed aside.
[141:8] 1127 tn Heb “my eyes [are] toward you.”
[141:8] 1128 tn Heb “do not lay bare my life.” Only here is the Piel form of the verb collocated with the term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”). In Isa 53:12 the Lord’s servant “lays bare (the Hiphil form of the verb is used) his life to death.”
[141:9] 1129 tn Heb “and the traps of the doers of evil.”
[141:10] 1130 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, “the wicked will fall.”
[141:10] 1132 tn Heb “at the same [that] I, until I pass by.” Another option is to take יַחַד (yakhad) with the preceding line, “let the wicked fall together into their own nets.”
[142:1] 1133 sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
[142:1] 1134 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
[142:1] 1135 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.
[142:1] 1136 tn Heb “[with] my voice to the
[142:1] 1137 tn Heb “[with] my voice to the
[142:2] 1138 tn Heb “my trouble before him I declare.”
[142:3] 1139 tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”
[142:3] 1140 tn Heb “you know my path.”
[142:4] 1141 tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”
[142:4] 1142 tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”
[142:4] 1143 tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”
[142:5] 1144 tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the
[142:6] 1145 tn Heb “for I am very low.”
[142:7] 1146 tn Heb “bring out my life.”
[142:7] 1147 tn Or “gather around.”
[142:7] 1148 tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.
[143:1] 1149 sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
[143:2] 1150 tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”
[143:2] 1151 tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”
[143:3] 1153 tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).
[143:3] 1154 tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”
[143:3] 1156 sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).
[143:4] 1157 tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”
[143:4] 1158 tn Heb “in my midst my heart is shocked.” For a similar use of the Hitpolel of שָׁמֵם (shamem), see Isa 59:16; 63:5.
[143:5] 1159 tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”
[143:5] 1160 tn Heb “the work of your hands.”
[143:6] 1161 tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.
[143:6] 1162 tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.
[143:6] 1163 tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[143:7] 1164 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
[143:7] 1165 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
[143:7] 1166 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
[143:7] 1167 tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.
[143:8] 1168 tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.
[143:8] sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).
[143:8] 1169 sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).
[143:8] 1170 tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).
[143:9] 1171 tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nastiy, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of kaf (כ) and nun (נ) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (’el, “to”) is well-attested.
[143:10] 1172 tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.
[143:10] 1173 tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).
[143:10] 1174 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.
[143:10] 1175 sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.
[143:11] 1176 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
[143:11] 1177 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.
[143:11] 1178 tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”
[143:12] 1179 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
[143:12] 1180 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect.
