Mazmur 33:4

33:4 For ¹  the Lord’s decrees ²  are just, ³ 

and everything he does is fair. ⁴ 

Mazmur 38:7

38:7 For I am overcome with shame ⁵ 

and my whole body is sick. ⁶ 

Mazmur 47:7

47:7 For God is king of the whole earth!

Sing a well-written song! ⁷ 

Mazmur 48:4

48:4 For ⁸  look, the kings assemble; ⁹ 

they advance together.

Mazmur 106:33

106:33 for they aroused ¹⁰  his temper, ¹¹ 

and he spoke rashly. ¹² 

Mazmur 119:45

119:45 I will be secure, ¹³ 

for I seek your precepts.

Mazmur 119:131

119:131 I open my mouth and pant,

because I long ¹⁴  for your commands.

[33:4]  ¹ sn For the Lord’s decrees are just… After the call to praise (vv. 1-3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.

[33:4]  ² tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.

[33:4]  ³ tn Or “upright.”

[33:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”

[38:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).

[38:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).

[47:7]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term also occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. Here, in a context of celebration, the meaning “skillful, well-written” would fit particularly well.

[48:4]  ⁸ tn The logical connection between vv. 3-4 seems to be this: God is the protector of Zion and reveals himself as the city’s defender – this is necessary because hostile armies threaten the city.

[48:4]  ⁹ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 4-6 are understood as descriptive. In dramatic style (note הִנֵּה, hinneh, “look”) the psalm describes an enemy attack against the city as if it were occurring at this very moment. Another option is to take the perfects as narrational (“the kings assembled, they advanced”), referring to a particular historical event, such as Sennacherib’s siege of the city in 701 b.c. (cf. NIV, NRSV). Even if one translates the verses in a dramatic-descriptive manner (as the present translation does), the Lord’s victory over the Assyrians was probably what served as the inspiration of the description (see v. 8).

[106:33]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text vocalizes the form as הִמְרוּ (himru), a Hiphil from מָרָה (marah, “to behave rebelliously”), but the verb fits better with the object (“his spirit”) if it is revocalized as הֵמֵרוּ (hemeru), a Hiphil from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”). The Israelites “embittered” Moses’ “spirit” in the sense that they aroused his temper with their complaints.

[106:33]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[106:33]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text adds “with his lips,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[106:33]  sn Verses 32-33 allude to the events of Num 20:1-13.

[119:45]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I will walk about in a wide place.” The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive gives a further consequence of the anticipated positive divine response (see vv. 43-44). Another option is to take the cohortative as expressing the psalmist’s request. In this case one could translate, “and please give me security.”

[119:131]  ¹⁴ tn The verb occurs only here in the OT.