Mazmur 2:11

2:11 Serve ¹  the Lord in fear!

Repent in terror! ² 

Mazmur 105:4

105:4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives!

Seek his presence continually!

Mazmur 113:1

Psalm 113 ³ 

113:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise, you servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

Mazmur 119:115

119:115 Turn away from me, you evil men,

so that I can observe ⁴  the commands of my God. ⁵ 

Mazmur 135:2

135:2 who serve ⁶  in the Lord’s temple,

in the courts of the temple of our God.

Mazmur 146:3

146:3 Do not trust in princes,

or in human beings, who cannot deliver! ⁷ 

[2:11]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “serve” refers here to submitting to the Lord’s sovereignty as expressed through the rule of the Davidic king. Such “service” would involve maintaining allegiance to the Davidic king by paying tribute on a regular basis.

[2:11]  ² tn Traditionally, “rejoice with trembling” (KJV). The verb גִּיל (gil) normally means “rejoice,” but this meaning does not fit well here in conjunction with “in trembling.” Some try to understand “trembling” (and the parallel יִרְאָה, yir’ah, “fear”) in the sense of “reverential awe” and then take the verbs “serve” and “rejoice” in the sense of “worship” (cf. NASB). But רְעָדָה (rÿ’adah, “trembling”) and its related terms consistently refer to utter terror and fear (see Exod 15:15; Job 4:14; Pss 48:6; 55:5; 104:32; Isa 33:14; Dan 10:11) or at least great emotional distress (Ezra 10:9). It seems more likely here that גִּיל carries its polarized meaning “mourn, lament,” as in Hos 10:5. “Mourn, lament” would then be metonymic in this context for “repent” (referring to one’s rebellious ways). On the meaning of the verb in Hos 10:5, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB), 556-57.

[113:1]  ³ sn Psalm 113. The psalmist praises God as the sovereign king of the world who reaches down to help the needy.

[119:115]  ⁴ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:115]  ⁵ tn The psalmist has already declared that he observes God’s commands despite persecution, so here the idea must be “so that I might observe the commands of my God unhindered by threats.”

[135:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “stand.”

[146:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”