Mazmur 34:8

34:8 Taste ¹  and see that the Lord is good!

How blessed ²  is the one ³  who takes shelter in him! ⁴ 

Mazmur 61:4

61:4 I will be a permanent guest in your home; ⁵ 

I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. ⁶  (Selah)

Mazmur 142:5

142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ⁷  in the land of the living.”

[34:8]  ¹ tn This verb is normally used of tasting or savoring food. The metaphor here appears to compare the Lord to a tasty meal.

[34:8]  ² 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, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[34:8]  ³ tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.”

[34:8]  ⁴ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[61:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will live as a resident alien in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[61:4]  ⁶ sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

[142:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.