Mazmur 5:1

Psalm 5 ¹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ²  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ³  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ⁴ 

Mazmur 21:3

21:3 For you bring him ⁵  rich ⁶  blessings; ⁷ 

you place a golden crown on his head.

Mazmur 21:11

21:11 Yes, ⁸  they intend to do you harm; ⁹ 

they dream up a scheme, ¹⁰  but they do not succeed. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 45:10

45:10 Listen, O princess! ¹² 

Observe and pay attention! ¹³ 

Forget your homeland ¹⁴  and your family! ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 49:7

49:7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; ¹⁶ 

he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 61:7

61:7 May he reign ¹⁸  forever before God!

Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 68:31

68:31 They come with red cloth ²⁰  from Egypt,

Ethiopia ²¹  voluntarily offers tribute ²²  to God.

Mazmur 72:4

72:4 He will defend ²³  the oppressed among the people;

he will deliver ²⁴  the children ²⁵  of the poor

and crush the oppressor.

Mazmur 72:8

72:8 May he rule ²⁶  from sea to sea, ²⁷ 

and from the Euphrates River ²⁸  to the ends of the earth!

Mazmur 72:15

72:15 May he live! ²⁹  May they offer him gold from Sheba! ³⁰ 

May they continually pray for him!

May they pronounce blessings on him all day long! ³¹ 

Mazmur 102:21

102:21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,

and praise him ³²  in Jerusalem, ³³ 

Mazmur 136:15

136:15 and tossed ³⁴  Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

for his loyal love endures,

[5:1]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.

[21:3]  ⁵ tn Or “meet him [with].”

[21:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “good.”

[21:3]  ⁷ sn You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God’s “blessings” include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).

[21:11]  ⁸ tn Or “for.”

[21:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).

[21:11]  ¹⁰ sn See Ps 10:2.

[21:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they lack ability.”

[45:10]  ¹² tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).

[45:10]  sn Listen, O princess. The poet now addresses the bride.

[45:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.

[45:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.

[45:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the house of your father.”

[49:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a brother, he surely does not ransom, a man.” The sequence אִישׁ...אָח (’akh...’ish, “a brother…a man”) is problematic, for the usual combination is אָח...אָח (“a brother…a brother”) or אִישׁ...אִישׁ (“a man…a man”). When אִישׁ and אָח are combined, the usual order is אָח...אִישׁ (“a man…a brother”), with “brother” having a third masculine singular suffix, “his brother.” This suggests that “brother” is the object of the verb and “man” the subject. (1) Perhaps the altered word order and absence of the suffix can be explained by the text’s poetic character, for ellipsis is a feature of Hebrew poetic style. (2) Another option, supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss, is to emend “brother” to the similar sounding אַךְ (’akh, “surely; but”) which occurs in v. 15 before the verb פָּדָה (padah, “ransom”). If this reading is accepted the Qal imperfect יִפְדֶּה (yifddeh, “he can [not] ransom”) would need to be emended to a Niphal (passive) form, יִפָּדֶה (yifadeh, “he can[not] be ransomed”) unless one understands the subject of the Qal verb to be indefinite (“one cannot redeem a man”). (A Niphal imperfect can be collocated with a Qal infinitive absolute. See GKC 344-45 §113.w.) No matter how one decides the textual issues, the imperfect in this case is modal, indicating potential, and the infinitive absolute emphasizes the statement.

[49:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he cannot pay to God his ransom price.” Num 35:31 may supply the legal background for the metaphorical language used here. The psalmist pictures God as having a claim on the soul of the individual. When God comes to claim the life that ultimately belongs to him, he demands a ransom price that is beyond the capability of anyone to pay. The psalmist’s point is that God has ultimate authority over life and death; all the money in the world cannot buy anyone a single day of life beyond what God has decreed.

[61:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “sit [enthroned].” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive here, expressing the psalmist’s prayer.

[61:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “loyal love and faithfulness appoint, let them protect him.”

[68:31]  ²⁰ tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).

[68:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “Cush.”

[68:31]  ²² tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).

[72:4]  ²³ tn Heb “judge [for].”

[72:4]  ²⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “sons.”

[72:8]  ²⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.

[72:8]  ²⁷ sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.

[72:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates.

[72:15]  ²⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. Because the form has the prefixed vav (ו), some subordinate it to what precedes as a purpose/result clause. In this case the representative poor individual might be the subject of this and the following verb, “so that he may live and give to him gold of Sheba.” But the idea of the poor offering gold is incongruous. It is better to take the jussive as a prayer with the king as subject of the verb. (Perhaps the initial vav is dittographic; note the vav at the end of the last form in v. 14.) The statement is probably an abbreviated version of the formula יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ (yÿkhiy hammelekh, “may the king live”; see 1 Sam 10:24; 2 Sam 16:16; 1 Kgs 1:25, 34, 39; 2 Kgs 11:12).

[72:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he will give to him some gold of Sheba.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one give”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are the tribute bearers in view here.

[72:15]  ³¹ tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one pray…and may one bless”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are in view here.

[102:21]  ³² tn Heb “his praise.”

[102:21]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[136:15]  ³⁴ tn Or “shook off.”