Mazmur 16:3

16:3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,

and the leading officials I admired so much ¹  –

Mazmur 26:4-5

26:4 I do not associate ²  with deceitful men,

or consort ³  with those who are dishonest. ⁴ 

26:5 I hate the mob ⁵  of evil men,

and do not associate ⁶  with the wicked.

Mazmur 26:9-10

26:9 Do not sweep me away ⁷  with sinners,

or execute me along with violent people, ⁸ 

26:10 who are always ready to do wrong ⁹ 

or offer a bribe. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 44:20-21

44:20 If we had rejected our God, ¹¹ 

and spread out our hands in prayer to another god, ¹² 

44:21 would not God discover it,

for he knows ¹³  one’s thoughts? ¹⁴ 

[16:3]  ¹ tn Heb “regarding the holy ones who [are] in the land, they; and the mighty [ones] in [whom is/was] all my desire.” The difficult syntax makes the meaning of the verse uncertain. The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s angelic assembly (see Ps 89:5, 7), but the qualifying clause “who are in the land” suggests that here it refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3).

[26:4]  ² tn Heb “sit.”

[26:4]  ³ tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.

[26:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”

[26:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “assembly, company.”

[26:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “sit.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.

[26:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”

[26:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[26:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”

[26:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”

[44:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “If we had forgotten the name of our God.” To “forget the name” here refers to rejecting the Lord’s authority (see Jer 23:27) and abandoning him as an object of prayer and worship (see the next line).

[44:20]  ¹² tn Heb “and spread out your hands to another god.” Spreading out the hands was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). In its most fundamental sense זר (“another; foreign; strange”) refers to something that is outside one’s circle, often making association with it inappropriate. A “strange” god is an alien deity, an “outside god” (see L. A. Snijders, TDOT 4:54-55).

[44:21]  ¹³ tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.

[44:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “would not God search out this, for he knows the hidden things of [the] heart?” The expression “search out” is used metonymically here, referring to discovery, the intended effect of a search. The “heart” (i.e., mind) is here viewed as the seat of one’s thoughts. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he would!” The point seems to be this: There is no way the Israelites who are the speakers in the psalm would reject God and turn to another god, for the omniscient God would easily discover such a sin.