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 22:6

22:6 But I ⁶  am a worm, ⁷  not a man; ⁸ 

people insult me and despise me. ⁹ 

Mazmur 26:4

26:4 I do not associate ¹⁰  with deceitful men,

or consort ¹¹  with those who are dishonest. ¹² 

Mazmur 26:9

26:9 Do not sweep me away ¹³  with sinners,

or execute me along with violent people, ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 77:6

77:6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;

I will think very carefully.”

I tried to make sense of what was happening. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 81:2

81:2 Sing ¹⁶  a song and play the tambourine,

the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!

Mazmur 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ¹⁷  and Babylon to my followers. ¹⁸ 

Here are ¹⁹  Philistia and Tyre, ²⁰  along with Ethiopia. ²¹ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ²² 

Mazmur 88:4

88:4 They treat me like ²³  those who descend into the grave. ²⁴ 

I am like a helpless man, ²⁵ 

Mazmur 89:13

89:13 Your arm is powerful,

your hand strong,

your right hand ²⁶  victorious. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 95:7

95:7 For he is our God;

we are the people of his pasture,

the sheep he owns. ²⁸ 

Today, if only you would obey him! ²⁹ 

Mazmur 106:5

106:5 so I may see the prosperity ³⁰  of your chosen ones,

rejoice along with your nation, ³¹ 

and boast along with the people who belong to you. ³² 

Mazmur 120:5

120:5 How miserable I am! ³³ 

For I have lived temporarily ³⁴  in Meshech;

I have resided among the tents of Kedar. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 130:7

130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,

for the Lord exhibits loyal love, ³⁶ 

and is more than willing to deliver. ³⁷ 

Mazmur 148:14

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ³⁸ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ³⁹ 

Praise the Lord!

[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.”

[22:6]  ⁶ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.

[22:6]  ⁷ tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).

[22:6]  ⁸ tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.

[22:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”

[26:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sit.”

[26:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.

[26:4]  ¹² tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”

[26:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”

[26:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[77:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.

[81:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “lift up.”

[87:4]  ¹⁷ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ²⁰ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ²² tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[88:4]  ²³ tn Heb “I am considered with.”

[88:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[88:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”

[89:13]  ²⁶ sn The Lord’s arm, hand, and right hand all symbolize his activities, especially his exploits in war.

[89:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “is lifted up.” The idiom “the right hand is lifted up” refers to victorious military deeds (see Pss 89:42; 118:16).

[95:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “of his hand.”

[95:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[106:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “good.”

[106:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “in order that [I may] rejoice with the rejoicing of your nation.”

[106:5]  ³² tn Heb “with your inheritance.”

[120:5]  ³³ tn Or “woe to me.” The Hebrew term אוֹיָה (’oyah, “woe”) which occurs only here, is an alternate form of אוֹי (’oy).

[120:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I live as a resident alien.”

[120:5]  ³⁵ sn Meshech was located in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). Kedar was located in the desert to east-southeast of Israel. Because of the reference to Kedar, it is possible that Ps 120:5 refers to a different Meshech, perhaps one associated with the individual mentioned as a descendant of Aram in 1 Chr 1:17. (However, the LXX in 1 Chr 1:17 follows the parallel text in Gen 10:23, which reads “Mash,” not Meshech.) It is, of course, impossible that the psalmist could have been living in both the far north and the east at the same time. For this reason one must assume that he is recalling his experience as a wanderer among the nations or that he is using the geographical terms metaphorically and sarcastically to suggest that the enemies who surround him are like the barbarians who live in these distant regions. For a discussion of the problem, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 146.

[130:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “for with the Lord [is] loyal love.”

[130:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”

[148:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ³⁹ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.