Mazmur 3:3

3:3 But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me; ¹ 

you are my glory ²  and the one who restores me. ³ 

Mazmur 7:4

7:4 or have wronged my ally, ⁴ 

or helped his lawless enemy, ⁵ 

Mazmur 10:3

10:3 Yes, ⁶  the wicked man ⁷  boasts because he gets what he wants; ⁸ 

the one who robs others ⁹  curses ¹⁰  and ¹¹  rejects the Lord. ¹² 

Mazmur 34:9

34:9 Remain loyal to ¹³  the Lord, you chosen people of his, ¹⁴ 

for his loyal followers ¹⁵  lack nothing!

Mazmur 35:17

35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? ¹⁶ 

Rescue ¹⁷  me ¹⁸  from their destructive attacks;

guard my life ¹⁹  from the young lions!

Mazmur 38:3

38:3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment; ²⁰ 

I am deprived of health because of my sin. ²¹ 

Mazmur 40:11

40:11 O Lord, you do not withhold ²²  your compassion from me.

May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me! ²³ 

Mazmur 43:2

43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. ²⁴ 

Why do you reject me? ²⁵ 

Why must I walk around ²⁶  mourning ²⁷ 

because my enemies oppress me?

Mazmur 49:8

49:8 (the ransom price for a human life ²⁸  is too high,

and people go to their final destiny), ²⁹ 

Mazmur 75:6

75:6 For victory does not come from the east or west,

or from the wilderness. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 86:11

86:11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live! ³¹ 

Then I will obey your commands. ³² 

Make me wholeheartedly committed to you! ³³ 

Mazmur 89:34

89:34 I will not break ³⁴  my covenant

or go back on what I promised. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 109:12

109:12 May no one show him kindness! ³⁶ 

May no one have compassion ³⁷  on his fatherless children!

Mazmur 111:10

111:10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; ³⁸ 

all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. ³⁹ 

He will receive praise forever. ⁴⁰ 

Mazmur 119:49

ז (Zayin)

119:49 Remember your word to your servant,

for you have given me hope.

Mazmur 142:5

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

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ⁴¹  in the land of the living.”

[3:3]  ¹ tn Heb “a shield round about me.”

[3:3]  ² tn Heb “my glory,” or “my honor.” The psalmist affirms that the Lord is his source of honor, i.e., the one who gives him honor in the sight of others. According to BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 7, the phrase refers to God as the one to whom the psalmist gives honor. But the immediate context focuses on what God does for the psalmist, not vice-versa.

[3:3]  ³ tn Heb “[the one who] lifts my head.” This phrase could be understood to refer to a general strengthening of the psalmist by God during difficult circumstances. However, if one takes the suggestion of the superscription that this is a Davidic psalm written during the revolt of Absalom, the phrase “lift the head” could refer to the psalmist’s desire for restoration to his former position (cf. Gen 40:13 where the same phrase is used). Like the Hebrew text, the present translation (“who restores me”) can be understood in either sense.

[7:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.

[7:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.

[10:3]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ⁷ tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

[10:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

[10:3]  ⁹ tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

[10:3]  ¹² tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

[34:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “fear.”

[34:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “O holy ones of his.”

[34:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[35:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “O Lord, how long will you see?”

[35:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “bring back, restore.”

[35:17]  ¹⁸ tn Or “my life.”

[35:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone (see Ps 22:20). The verb “guard” is supplied in the translation, because the verb “rescue” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[38:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.

[38:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”

[40:11]  ²² tn Some (cf. NIV, NRSV) translate the verb as a request (“do not withhold”), but elsewhere in the psalms the second masculine singular prefixed form, when addressed to God and preceded by לֹא (lo’), is always indicative in mood and never has the force of a prayer (see Pss 16:10; 22:2; 44:9 51:16-17; 60:10; 108:11; cf. NEB, NASB).

[40:11]  ²³ tn In this line the psalmist makes the transition from confidence to petition (see v. 13). Since the prefixed verbal form in the preceding line is imperfect/indicative, one could take the verb in this line as imperfect as well and translate, “your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me” (cf. NEB). However, the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the next verse, if causal (“because”), is best understood as introducing a motivating argument in support of a petition. For this reason v. 11b is best taken as a prayer with the prefixed form being understood as jussive (cf. NIV, NRSV). For parallels to the proposed construction (jussive followed by כִּי + perfect introducing motivating argument), see Ps 25:21, as well as Pss 10:2-3; 22:8.

[43:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.

[43:2]  ²⁵ tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).

[43:2]  ²⁶ tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.

[43:2]  ²⁷ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.

[49:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “their life.” Some emend the text to “his life,” understanding the antecedent of the pronoun as “brother” in v. 7. However, the man and brother of v. 7 are representative of the human race in general, perhaps explaining why a plural pronoun appears in v. 8. Of course, the plural pronoun could refer back to “the rich” mentioned in v. 6. Another option (the one assumed in the translation) is that the suffixed mem is enclitic. In this case the “ransom price for human life” is referred to an abstract, general way.

[49:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and one ceases forever.” The translation assumes an indefinite subject which in turn is representative of the entire human race (“one,” that refers to human beings without exception). The verb חָדַל (khadal, “cease”) is understood in the sense of “come to an end; fail” (i.e., die). Another option is to translate, “and one ceases/refrains forever.” In this case the idea is that the living, convinced of the reality of human mortality, give up all hope of “buying off” God and refrain from trying to do so.

[75:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4-5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.

[86:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles he expects the psalmist to follow. See Pss 25:4; 27:11.

[86:11]  ³² tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The Lord’s commandments are referred to as “truth” here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. See Ps 25:5.

[86:11]  ³³ tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).

[89:34]  ³⁴ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:34]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”

[109:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”

[109:12]  ³⁷ tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).

[111:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the beginning of wisdom [is] the fear of the Lord.”

[111:10]  ³⁹ tn Heb “good sense [is] to all who do them.” The third masculine plural pronominal suffix must refer back to the “precepts” mentioned in v. 7. In the translation the referent has been specified for clarity. The phrase שֵׂכֶל טוֹב (shekhel tov) also occurs in Prov 3:4; 13:15 and 2 Chr 30:22.

[111:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”

[142:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.