Mazmur 23:2

23:2 He takes me to lush pastures, ¹ 

he leads me to refreshing water. ² 

Mazmur 28:2

28:2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,

when I lift my hands ³  toward your holy temple! ⁴ 

Mazmur 31:4

31:4 You will free me ⁵  from the net they hid for me,

for you are my place of refuge.

Mazmur 41:3

41:3 The Lord supports ⁶  him on his sickbed;

you completely heal him from his illness. ⁷ 

Mazmur 43:2

43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. ⁸ 

Why do you reject me? ⁹ 

Why must I walk around ¹⁰  mourning ¹¹ 

because my enemies oppress me?

Mazmur 68:17

68:17 God has countless chariots;

they number in the thousands. ¹² 

The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor. ¹³ 

Mazmur 68:22

68:22 The Lord says,

“I will retrieve them ¹⁴  from Bashan,

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

Mazmur 77:13

77:13 ¹⁵ O God, your deeds are extraordinary! ¹⁶ 

What god can compare to our great God? ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 78:71

78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, ¹⁸ 

and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,

and of Israel, his chosen nation. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 88:12

88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced ²⁰  in the dark region, ²¹ 

or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? ²² 

Mazmur 95:4

95:4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, ²³ 

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Mazmur 95:11

95:11 So I made a vow in my anger,

‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’” ²⁴ 

Mazmur 107:40

107:40 He would pour ²⁵  contempt upon princes,

and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.

Mazmur 132:7-8

132:7 Let us go to his dwelling place!

Let us worship ²⁶  before his footstool!

132:8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,

you and the ark of your strength!

Mazmur 143:3

143:3 Certainly ²⁷  my enemies ²⁸  chase me.

They smash me into the ground. ²⁹ 

They force me to live ³⁰  in dark regions, ³¹ 

like those who have been dead for ages.

[23:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he makes me lie down in lush pastures.” The Hiphil verb יַרְבִּיצֵנִי (yarbitseniy) has a causative-modal nuance here (see IBHS 445-46 §27.5 on this use of the Hiphil), meaning “allows me to lie down” (see also Jer 33:12). The point is that the shepherd takes the sheep to lush pastures and lets them eat and rest there. Both imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing and highlight the psalmist’s typical experience.

[23:2]  ² tn Both genitives in v. 2 indicate an attribute of the noun they modify: דֶּשֶׁא (deshe’) characterizes the pastures as “lush” (i.e., rich with vegetation), while מְנֻחוֹת (mÿnukhot) probably characterizes the water as refreshing. In this case the plural indicates an abstract quality. Some take מְנֻחוֹת in the sense of “still, calm” (i.e., as describing calm pools in contrast to dangerous torrents) but it is unlikely that such a pastoral scene is in view. Shepherds usually watered their sheep at wells (see Gen 29:2-3; Exod 2:16-19). Another option is to take מְנֻחוֹת as “resting places” and to translate, “water of/at the resting places” (i.e., a genitive of location; see IBHS 147-48 §9.5.2e).

[23:2]  sn Within the framework of the metaphor, the psalmist/sheep is declaring in v. 2 that his shepherd provides the essentials for physical life. At a deeper level the psalmist may be referring to more than just physical provision, though that would certainly be included.

[28:2]  ³ sn I lift my hands. Lifting one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer.

[28:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term דְּבִיר (dÿvir, “temple”) actually refers to the most holy place within the sanctuary.

[31:4]  ⁵ 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.”

[41:3]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive, continuing the prayer of v. 2, but the parallel line in v. 3b employs the perfect, suggesting that the psalmist is again speaking in the indicative mood (see v. 1b). The imperfect can be understood as future or as generalizing (see v. 1).

[41:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “all his bed you turn in his illness.” The perfect is used here in a generalizing sense (see v. 1) or in a rhetorical manner to emphasize that the healing is as good as done.

[43:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.

[43:2]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.

[68:17]  ¹² tn Heb “thousands of [?].” The meaning of the word שִׁנְאָן (shin’an), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Perhaps the form should be emended to שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan, “at ease”) and be translated here “held in reserve.”

[68:17]  ¹³ tc The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֲדֹנָי בָּא מִסִּינַי (’adonay ba’ missinay; see BHS note b-b and Deut 33:2).

[68:22]  ¹⁴ tn That is, the enemies mentioned in v. 21. Even if they retreat to distant regions, God will retrieve them and make them taste his judgment.

[77:13]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”

[78:71]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

[78:71]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

[88:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “known.”

[88:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.

[88:12]  ²² tn Heb “forgetfulness.” The noun, which occurs only here in the OT, is derived from a verbal root meaning “to forget.”

[88:12]  sn The rhetorical questions in vv. 10-12 expect the answer, “Of course not!”

[95:4]  ²³ tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.

[95:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).

[107:40]  ²⁵ tn The active participle is understood as past durative here, drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame. However, it could be taken as generalizing (in which case one should translate using the English present tense), in which case the psalmist moves from narrative to present reality. Perhaps the participial form appears because the statement is lifted from Job 12:21.

[132:7]  ²⁶ tn Or “bow down.”

[143:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “for.”

[143:3]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

[143:3]  ³⁰ tn Or “sit.”

[143:3]  ³¹ sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).