Mazmur 18:16

18:16 He reached down ¹  from above and took hold of me;

he pulled me from the surging water. ² 

Mazmur 90:17

90:17 May our sovereign God extend his favor to us! ³ 

Make our endeavors successful!

Yes, make them successful! ⁴ 

Mazmur 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ⁵ 

may the Lord remove them, ⁶  along with those who behave wickedly! ⁷ 

May Israel experience peace! ⁸ 

[18:16]  ¹ tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.

[18:16]  ² tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).

[90:17]  ³ tn Heb “and may the delight of the Master, our God, be on us.” The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am, “delight”) is used in Ps 27:4 of the Lord’s “beauty,” but here it seems to refer to his favor (see BDB 653 s.v.) or kindness (HALOT 706 s.v.).

[90:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the work of our hands establish over us, and the work of our hands, establish it.”

[125:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).