Mazmur 18:31

18:31 Indeed, ¹  who is God besides the Lord?

Who is a protector ²  besides our God? ³ 

Mazmur 25:14-15

25:14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, ⁴ 

and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. ⁵ 

25:15 I continually look to the Lord for help, ⁶ 

for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net. ⁷ 

Mazmur 33:6

33:6 By the Lord’s decree ⁸  the heavens were made;

by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. ⁹ 

Mazmur 33:22

33:22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord, ¹⁰ 

for ¹¹  we wait for you.

Mazmur 39:7

39:7 But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying?

You are my only hope! ¹² 

Mazmur 56:5

56:5 All day long they cause me trouble; ¹³ 

they make a habit of plotting my demise. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 71:5

71:5 For you give me confidence, ¹⁵  O Lord;

O Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 72:18

72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise! ¹⁷ 

He alone accomplishes amazing things! ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 82:7

82:7 Yet you will die like mortals; ¹⁹ 

you will fall like all the other rulers.” ²⁰ 

Mazmur 86:4

86:4 Make your servant ²¹  glad,

for to you, O Lord, I pray! ²² 

Mazmur 96:4-5

96:4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;

he is more awesome than all gods. ²³ 

96:5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless, ²⁴ 

but the Lord made the sky.

Mazmur 102:23

102:23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; ²⁵ 

he has cut short my days.

Mazmur 105:12

105:12 When they were few in number,

just a very few, and resident aliens within it,

Mazmur 119:96

119:96 I realize that everything has its limits,

but your commands are beyond full comprehension. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 136:4

136:4 to the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself,

for his loyal love endures,

[18:31]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[18:31]  ² tn Heb “rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor of divine protection. See v. 2, where the Hebrew term צוּר (tsur) is translated “rocky summit.”

[18:31]  ³ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “No one.” In this way the psalmist indicates that the Lord is the only true God and reliable source of protection. See also Deut 32:39, where the Lord affirms that he is the only true God. Note as well the emphasis on his role as protector (Heb “rocky cliff,” צוּר, tsur) in Deut 32:4, 15, 17-18, 30.

[25:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.”

[25:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”

[25:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “my eyes continually [are] toward the Lord.”

[25:15]  ⁷ 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).

[33:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “word.”

[33:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.

[33:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “let your faithfulness, O Lord, be on us.”

[33:22]  ¹¹ tn Or “just as.”

[39:7]  ¹² tn Heb “my hope, for you it [is].”

[56:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”

[71:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for you [are] my hope.”

[71:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “O Lord, my source of confidence from my youth.”

[72:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21; 41:13.

[72:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[the] one who does amazing things by himself.”

[82:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “men.” The point in the context is mortality, however, not maleness.

[82:7]  sn You will die like mortals. For the concept of a god losing immortality and dying, see Isa 14:12-15, which alludes to a pagan myth in which the petty god “Shining One, son of the Dawn,” is hurled into Sheol for his hubris.

[82:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “like one of the rulers.” The comparison does not necessarily imply that they are not rulers. The expression “like one of” can sometimes mean “as one of” (Gen 49:16; Obad 11) or “as any other of” (Judg 16:7, 11).

[86:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “the soul of your servant.”

[86:4]  ²² tn Heb “I lift up my soul.”

[96:4]  ²³ tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.

[96:5]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew term אֱלִילִים (’elilim, “worthless”) sounds like אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”). The sound play draws attention to the statement.

[102:23]  ²⁵ 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).

[119:96]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to every perfection I have seen an end, your command is very wide.” God’s law is beyond full comprehension, which is why the psalmist continually studies it (vv. 95, 97).