Mazmur 7:10

7:10 The Exalted God is my shield, ¹ 

the one who delivers the morally upright. ² 

Mazmur 11:7

11:7 Certainly ³  the Lord is just; ⁴ 

he rewards godly deeds; ⁵ 

the upright will experience his favor. ⁶ 

Mazmur 17:2

17:2 Make a just decision on my behalf! ⁷ 

Decide what is right! ⁸ 

Mazmur 23:3

23:3 He restores my strength. ⁹ 

He leads me down ¹⁰  the right paths ¹¹ 

for the sake of his reputation. ¹² 

Mazmur 33:1

Psalm 33 ¹³ 

33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!

It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.

Mazmur 33:4

33:4 For ¹⁴  the Lord’s decrees ¹⁵  are just, ¹⁶ 

and everything he does is fair. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 94:15

94:15 For justice will prevail, ¹⁸ 

and all the morally upright ¹⁹  will be vindicated. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 97:11

97:11 The godly bask in the light;

the morally upright experience joy. ²¹ 

Mazmur 107:42

107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,

and every sinner ²²  shuts his mouth.

Mazmur 111:1

Psalm 111 ²³ 

111:1 Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.

Mazmur 112:2

112:2 His descendants ²⁴  will be powerful on the earth;

the godly ²⁵  will be blessed.

Mazmur 112:4

112:4 In the darkness a light ²⁶  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 125:4

125:4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,

to the morally upright! ²⁸ 

[7:10]  ¹ 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]  ² 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).

[11:7]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Or “righteous.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “he loves righteous deeds.” The “righteous deeds” are probably those done by godly people (see v. 5). The Lord “loves” such deeds in the sense that he rewards them. Another option is to take צְדָקוֹת (tsÿdaqot) as referring to God’s acts of justice (see Ps 103:6). In this case one could translate, “he loves to do just deeds.”

[11:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the upright will see his face.” The singular subject (“upright”) does not agree with the plural verb. However, collective singular nouns can be construed with a plural predicate (see GKC 462 §145.b). Another possibility is that the plural verb יֶחֱזוּ (yekhezu) is a corruption of an original singular form. To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 17:15 and Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזָה (khazah), is used]). On the form פָנֵימוֹ (fanemo, “his face”) see GKC 300-301 §103.b, n. 3.

[17:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.”)

[23:3]  ⁹ tn The appearance of the Hebrew term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), traditionally translated “my soul,” might suggest a spiritualized interpretation for the first line of v. 3. However, at the surface level of the shepherd/sheep metaphor, this is unlikely. When it occurs with a pronominal suffix נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. 4 נֶפֶשׁ.a). In this context, where the statement most naturally refers to the physical provision just described, the form is best translated simply “me.” The accompanying verb (a Polel form [factitive use] of שׁוּב [shuv]), if referring to the physical provision just described, carries the nuance “refresh, restore strength.”

[23:3]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 (יְשׁוֹבֵב [yÿshovev] and יַנְחֵנִי [yakheniy]), like those in vv. 1-2, highlight what is typical of the shepherd/sheep relationship.

[23:3]  ¹¹ tn The attributive genitive צֶדֶק (tsedeq) is traditionally translated “righteousness” here, as if designating a moral or ethical quality. But this seems unlikely, for it modifies מַעְגְּלֵי (ma’ggÿley, “paths”). Within the shepherd/sheep metaphor, the phrase likely refers to “right” or “correct” paths, i.e. ones that lead to pastures, wells, or the fold. While צֶדֶק usually does carry a moral or ethical nuance, it can occasionally refer to less abstract things, such as weights and offerings. In this context, which emphasizes divine provision and protection, the underlying reality is probably God’s providential guidance. The psalmist is confident that God takes him down paths that will ultimately lead to something beneficial, not destructive.

[23:3]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term שֶׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the shepherd’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.) The statement לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (lÿma’an shÿmo, “for the sake of his name”) makes excellent sense within the framework of the shepherd/sheep metaphor. Shepherds, who sometimes hired out their services, were undoubtedly concerned about their vocational reputation. To maintain their reputation as competent shepherds, they had to know the “lay of the land” and make sure they led the sheep down the right paths to the proper destinations. The underlying reality is a profound theological truth: God must look out for the best interests of the one he has promised to protect, because if he fails to do so, his faithfulness could legitimately be called into question and his reputation damaged.

[33:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.

[33:4]  ¹⁴ sn For the Lord’s decrees are just… After the call to praise (vv. 1-3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.

[33:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.

[33:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “upright.”

[33:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”

[94:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for judgment will return to justice.”

[94:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “all the 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 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 97:11).

[94:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”

[97:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zara’, “planted”) to זָרַח (zara’, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.

[107:42]  ²² tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.

[111:1]  ²³ sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:2]  ²⁴ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[112:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “His seed will be mighty on the earth, the generation of the godly.” The Hebrew term דוֹר (dor, “generation”) could be taken as parallel to “offspring” and translated “posterity,” but the singular more likely refers to the godly as a class. See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[112:4]  ²⁶ tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.

[125:4]  ²⁸ 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 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).