Mazmur 14:6

14:6 You want to humiliate the oppressed, ¹ 

even though ²  the Lord is their ³  shelter.

Mazmur 71:21

71:21 Raise me to a position of great honor! ⁴ 

Turn and comfort me! ⁵ 

Mazmur 91:16

91:16 I will satisfy him with long life, ⁶ 

and will let him see my salvation.

Mazmur 115:13-14

115:13 He will bless his loyal followers, ⁷ 

both young and old. ⁸ 

115:14 May he increase your numbers,

yours and your children’s! ⁹ 

Mazmur 118:14

118:14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me; ¹⁰ 

he has become my deliverer.” ¹¹ 

Mazmur 118:16

118:16 the Lord’s right hand gives victory, ¹² 

the Lord’s right hand conquers.

Mazmur 119:4

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ¹³ 

Mazmur 119:50

119:50 This ¹⁴  is what comforts me in my trouble,

for your promise revives me. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 121:3

121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!

May your protector ¹⁶  not sleep! ¹⁷ 

[14:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame.” Using a second person plural verb form, the psalmist addresses the wicked. Since the context indicates their attempt to harm the godly will be thwarted, the imperfect should be taken in a subjunctive (cf. NASB, NRSV) rather than an indicative manner (cf. NIV). Here it probably expresses their desire or intent (“want to humiliate”).

[14:6]  ² tn It is unlikely that כִּי (ki) has a causal force here. The translation assumes a concessive force; another option is to understand an asseverative use (“certainly, indeed”).

[14:6]  ³ tn Heb “his.” The antecedent of the singular pronoun is the singular form עָנִי (’ani, “oppressed”) in the preceding line. The singular is collective or representative here (and thus translated as plural, “they”).

[71:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “increase my greatness.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer or wish. The psalmist’s request for “greatness” (or “honor”) is not a boastful, self-serving prayer for prominence, but, rather, a request that God would vindicate by elevating him over those who are trying to humiliate him.

[71:21]  ⁵ tn The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.)

[91:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “length of days.”

[115:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “the fearers of the Lord.”

[115:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “the small along with the great.” The translation assumes that “small” and “great” here refer to age (see 2 Chr 15:13). Another option is to translate “both the insignificant and the prominent” (see Job 3:19; cf. NEB “high and low alike”).

[115:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “may he add to you, to you and your sons.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating this is a prayer.

[118:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my strength and protection [is] the Lord.” The Hebrew term זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song” (“my strength and song [is] the Lord”) in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing). However, many recent commentators have argued that the noun זִמְרָת is here a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v.; cf. NEB “The Lord is my refuge and defence”; NRSV “my strength and my might.”

[118:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “salvation.”

[118:16]  ¹² tn Heb “exalts.”

[119:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:50]  ¹⁴ tn The demonstrative “this” refers back to the hope just mentioned or forward to the statement in the second line concerning the promise’s power to revive. See the note on the word “me” at the end of the verse for further discussion.

[119:50]  ¹⁵ tn The hope generated by the promise (see v. 49b) brings comfort because (note “for” at the beginning of the line) the promise revives the psalmist’s spirits. Another option is to take כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the second line in the sense of “that,” in which case “this” refers to the promise’s power to revive.

[121:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the one who guards you.”

[121:3]  ¹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal forms following the negative particle אל appear to be jussives. As noted above, if they are taken as true jussives of prayer, then the speaker in v. 3 would appear to be distinct from both the speaker in vv. 1-2 and the speaker in vv. 4-8. However, according to GKC 322 §109.e), the jussives are used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one should probably translate, “he will not allow your foot to slip, your protector will not sleep,” and understand just one speaker in vv. 4-8.