Mazmur 3:6

3:6 I am not afraid ¹  of the multitude of people ² 

who attack me from all directions. ³ 

Mazmur 18:27

18:27 For you deliver oppressed ⁴  people,

but you bring down those who have a proud look. ⁵ 

Mazmur 18:47

18:47 The one true God ⁶  completely vindicates me; ⁷ 

he makes nations submit to me. ⁸ 

Mazmur 72:2

72:2 Then he will judge ⁹  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ¹⁰  equitably.

Mazmur 74:14

74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; ¹¹ 

you fed ¹²  him to the people who live along the coast. ¹³ 

Mazmur 83:6

83:6 It includes ¹⁴  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

Moab and the Hagrites, ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 87:1

Psalm 87 ¹⁶ 

Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.

87:1 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 87:6

87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, ¹⁸ 

“This one was born there.” ¹⁹  (Selah)

Mazmur 89:15

89:15 How blessed are the people who worship you! ²⁰ 

O Lord, they experience your favor. ²¹ 

Mazmur 97:6

97:6 The sky declares his justice,

and all the nations see his splendor.

Mazmur 99:1

Psalm 99 ²² 

99:1 The Lord reigns!

The nations tremble. ²³ 

He sits enthroned above the winged angels; ²⁴ 

the earth shakes. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 105:44

105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,

and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, ²⁶ 

Mazmur 107:32

107:32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people!

Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside! ²⁷ 

Mazmur 122:8

122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors

I will say, “May there be peace in you!”

Mazmur 133:1

Psalm 133 ²⁸ 

A song of ascents, ²⁹  by David.

133:1 Look! How good and how pleasant it is

when brothers live together! ³⁰ 

Mazmur 136:22

136:22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant,

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 148:11

148:11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,

you princes and all you leaders ³¹  on the earth,

[3:6]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s continuing attitude as he faces the crisis at hand.

[3:6]  ² tn Or perhaps “troops.” The Hebrew noun עָם (’am) sometimes refers to a military contingent or army.

[3:6]  ³ tn Heb “who all around take a stand against me.”

[18:27]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).

[18:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”

[18:47]  ⁶ tn Heb “the God.” See v. 32.

[18:47]  ⁷ tn Heb “is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication.

[18:47]  sn Completely vindicates me. In the ancient Near East military victory was sometimes viewed as a sign that one’s God had judged in favor of the victor, avenging and/or vindicating him. See, for example, Judg 11:27, 32-33, 36.

[18:47]  ⁸ tn Heb “he subdues nations beneath me.” On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue,” a homonym of דָּבַר, davar, “speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 47:3 and 2 Chr 22:10. 2 Sam 22:48 reads “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”

[72:2]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ¹⁰ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[74:14]  ¹¹ sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (’aqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.

[74:14]  ¹² tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.

[74:14]  ¹³ sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).

[83:6]  ¹⁴ tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[83:6]  ¹⁵ sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.

[87:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.

[87:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the Lord’s dwelling place in Zion. The “hills” are the ones surrounding Zion (see Pss 125:2; 133:3).

[87:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”

[87:6]  ¹⁹ tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.

[89:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “who know the shout.” “Shout” here refers to the shouts of the Lord’s worshipers (see Pss 27:6; 33:3; 47:5).

[89:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “in the light of your face they walk.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; Dan 9:17).

[99:1]  ²² sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.

[99:1]  ²³ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”

[99:1]  ²⁴ sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

[99:1]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).

[105:44]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”

[107:32]  ²⁷ tn Heb “in the seat of the elders.”

[133:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 133. The psalmist affirms the benefits of family unity.

[133:1]  ²⁹ 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.

[133:1]  ³⁰ sn This statement refers to the extended family structure of ancient Israel, where brothers would often live in proximity to one another (Deut 25:5), giving the family greater social prominence and security. However, in its later application in the Israelite cult it probably envisions unity within the covenant community. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 212-15.

[148:11]  ³¹ tn Or “judges.”