Mazmur 7:9

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ¹  come to an end! ² 

But make the innocent ³  secure, ⁴ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ⁵  inner thoughts and motives! ⁶ 

Mazmur 30:12

30:12 So now ⁷  my heart ⁸  will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always ⁹  give thanks to you.

Mazmur 32:5

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, “I will confess ¹⁰  my rebellious acts to the Lord.”

And then you forgave my sins. ¹¹  (Selah)

Mazmur 35:15

35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;

they gathered together to ambush me. ¹² 

They tore at me without stopping to rest. ¹³ 

Mazmur 42:5-6

42:5 Why are you depressed, ¹⁴  O my soul? ¹⁵ 

Why are you upset? ¹⁶ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ¹⁷ 

42:6 I am depressed, ¹⁸ 

so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, ¹⁹ 

from Hermon, ²⁰  from Mount Mizar. ²¹ 

Mazmur 42:11

42:11 Why are you depressed, ²²  O my soul? ²³ 

Why are you upset? ²⁴ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 61:2

61:2 From the most remote place on earth ²⁶ 

I call out to you in my despair. ²⁷ 

Lead me ²⁸  up to an inaccessible rocky summit! ²⁹ 

Mazmur 71:3

71:3 Be my protector and refuge, ³⁰ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ³¹ 

For you are my high ridge ³²  and my stronghold.

Mazmur 88:5

88:5 adrift ³³  among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 106:23

106:23 He threatened ³⁵  to destroy them,

but ³⁶  Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him ³⁷ 

and turned back his destructive anger. ³⁸ 

Mazmur 142:6

142:6 Listen to my cry for help,

for I am in serious trouble! ³⁹ 

Rescue me from those who chase me,

for they are stronger than I am.

[7:9]  ¹ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.

[7:9]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ³ tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

[7:9]  ⁵ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.

[7:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[30:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”

[30:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.

[30:12]  ⁹ tn Or “forever.”

[32:5]  ¹⁰ tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”

[32:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.

[35:15]  ¹² tn Heb “they gathered together against me, stricken [ones], and I did not know.” The Hebrew form נֵכִים (nekhim, “stricken ones” ?) is problematic. Some suggest an emendation to נָכְרִים[כְ] (kÿnokhÿrim, “foreigners”) or “like foreigners,” which would fit with what follows, “[like] foreigners that I do not recognize.” Perhaps the form should be read as a Qal active participle, נֹכִים (nokhim, “ones who strike”) from the verbal root נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike”). The Qal of this verb is unattested in biblical Hebrew, but the peal (basic) stem appears in Old Aramaic (J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 114; DNWSI 1:730.) In this case one might translate, “attackers gathered together against me though I was not aware of it” (cf. NASB “smiters”; NEB, NRSV “ruffians”; NIV “attackers”).

[35:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “they tore and did not keep quiet.” By using the verb “tear,” the psalmist likens his enemies to a wild animal (see Hos 13:8). In v. 17 he compares them to hungry young lions.

[42:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:5]  ¹⁵ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.

[42:5]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (’elohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pÿney, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.

[42:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.

[42:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.

[42:6]  ²⁰ tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.

[42:6]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.

[42:11]  ²² tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:11]  ²³ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[42:11]  ²⁵ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.

[61:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).

[61:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “while my heart faints.”

[61:2]  ²⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[61:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”

[71:3]  ³⁰ tc Heb “become for me a rocky summit of a dwelling place.” The Hebrew term מָעוֹן (ma’on, “dwelling place”) should probably be emended to מָעוֹז (ma’oz, “refuge”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ³¹ tc Heb “to enter continually, you commanded to deliver me.” The Hebrew phrase לָבוֹא תָּמִיד צִוִּיתָ (lavo’ tamid tsivvita, “to enter continually, you commanded”) should be emended to לְבֵית מְצוּדוֹת (lÿvet mÿtsudot, “a house of strongholds”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ³² sn You are my high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[88:5]  ³³ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “from your hand.”

[106:23]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and he said.”

[106:23]  ³⁶ tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”

[106:23]  ³⁷ tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”

[106:23]  ³⁸ tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”

[106:23]  sn Verses 19-23 describe the events of Exod 32:1-35.

[142:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “for I am very low.”