Mazmur 102:12-22

102:12 But you, O Lord, rule forever, ¹ 

and your reputation endures. ² 

102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. ³ 

For it is time to have mercy on her,

for the appointed time has come.

102:14 Indeed, ⁴  your servants take delight in her stones,

and feel compassion for ⁵  the dust of her ruins. ⁶ 

102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, ⁷ 

and all the kings of the earth will respect ⁸  his splendor,

102:16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,

and reveals his splendor,

102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, ⁹ 

and does not reject ¹⁰  their request. ¹¹ 

102:18 The account of his intervention ¹²  will be recorded for future generations;

people yet to be born will praise the Lord.

102:19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above; ¹³ 

from heaven the Lord will look toward earth, ¹⁴ 

102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,

and to set free those condemned to die, ¹⁵ 

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

and praise him ¹⁶  in Jerusalem, ¹⁷ 

102:22 when the nations gather together,

and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 102:28

102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,

and their descendants ¹⁹  will live securely in your presence.” ²⁰ 

[102:12]  ¹ tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.

[102:12]  ² tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”

[102:13]  ³ tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”

[102:14]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[102:14]  ⁵ tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.

[102:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.

[102:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “will fear the name of the Lord.” To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).

[102:15]  ⁸ tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[102:17]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).

[102:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “despise.”

[102:17]  ¹¹ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.

[102:18]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[102:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”

[102:19]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.

[102:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[102:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his praise.”

[102:21]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[102:22]  ¹⁸ tn “and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.”

[102:28]  ¹⁹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[102:28]  ²⁰ tn Heb “before you will be established.”