Mazmur 37:23-24

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ¹ 

37:24 Even if ²  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ³ 

for the Lord holds ⁴  his hand.

Mazmur 37:28

37:28 For the Lord promotes ⁵  justice,

and never abandons ⁶  his faithful followers.

They are permanently secure, ⁷ 

but the children ⁸  of evil men are wiped out. ⁹ 

Mazmur 103:17-18

103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, ¹⁰ 

and is faithful to their descendants, ¹¹ 

103:18 to those who keep his covenant,

who are careful to obey his commands. ¹² 

Mazmur 125:1-2

Psalm 125 ¹³ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁴ 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, ¹⁵ 

so the Lord surrounds his people,

now and forevermore.

[37:23]  ¹ tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[37:24]  ² tn Other translation options for כִּי in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[37:24]  ³ tn Heb “be hurled down.”

[37:24]  ⁴ tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.

[37:28]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

[37:28]  ⁷ tn Or “protected forever.”

[37:28]  ⁸ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:28]  ⁹ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.

[103:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”

[103:18]  ¹² tn Heb “to those who remember his precepts to do them.”

[125:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ¹⁴ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[125:2]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.