Mazmur 30:4

30:4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers ¹  of his;

give thanks to his holy name. ² 

Mazmur 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes ³  justice,

and never abandons ⁴  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ⁵ 

but the children ⁶  of evil men are wiped out. ⁷ 

Mazmur 50:5

50:5 He says: ⁸ 

“Assemble my covenant people before me, ⁹ 

those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice!” ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 52:9

52:9 I will continually ¹¹  thank you when ¹²  you execute judgment; ¹³ 

I will rely ¹⁴  on you, ¹⁵  for your loyal followers know you are good. ¹⁶ 

[30:4]  ¹ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[30:4]  ² tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The noun זֵכֵר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 97:12.The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.

[37:28]  ³ tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.

[37:28]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

[37:28]  ⁵ tn Or “protected forever.”

[37:28]  ⁶ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:28]  ⁷ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.

[50:5]  ⁸ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.

[50:5]  ⁹ tn Or “Gather to me my covenant people.” The Hebrew term חָסִיד (khasid, “covenant people”) elsewhere in the psalms is used in a positive sense of God’s loyal followers (see the note at Ps 4:3), but here, as the following line makes clear, the term has a neutral sense and simply refers to those who have outwardly sworn allegiance to God, not necessarily to those whose loyalty is genuine.

[50:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the cutters of my covenant according to sacrifice.” A sacrifice accompanied the covenant-making ceremony and formally ratified the agreement (see Exod 24:3-8).

[52:9]  ¹¹ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ¹² tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

[52:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”