Mazmur 33:10-17

33:10 The Lord frustrates ¹  the decisions of the nations;

he nullifies the plans ²  of the peoples.

33:11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;

his plans abide throughout the ages. ³ 

33:12 How blessed ⁴  is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession. ⁵ 

33:13 The Lord watches ⁶  from heaven;

he sees all people. ⁷ 

33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully

at all the earth’s inhabitants.

33:15 He is the one who forms every human heart, ⁸ 

and takes note of all their actions.

33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;

a warrior is not saved by his great might.

33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; ⁹ 

despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.

[33:10]  ¹ tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the Lord’s activity.

[33:10]  ² tn Heb “thoughts.”

[33:11]  ³ tn Heb “the thoughts of his heart for generation to generation.” The verb “abides” is supplied in the translation. The Lord’s “decisions” and “plans” here refer to his decrees and purposes.

[33:12]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[33:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “inheritance.”

[33:13]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal forms in v. 13 state general facts.

[33:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the sons of men.”

[33:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one who forms together their heart[s].” “Heart” here refers to human nature, composed of intellect, emotions and will. The precise force of יָחַד (yakhad, “together”) is unclear here. The point seems to be that the Lord is the creator of every human being.

[33:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “a lie [is] the horse for victory.”