Mazmur 46:1

Psalm 46 ¹ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ²  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ³ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ⁴ 

Mazmur 62:8

62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people!

Pour out your hearts before him! ⁵ 

God is our shelter! (Selah)

Mazmur 68:6

68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; ⁶ 

he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. ⁷ 

But sinful rebels live in the desert. ⁸ 

Mazmur 68:16

68:16 Why do you look with envy, ⁹  O mountains ¹⁰  with many peaks,

at the mountain where God has decided to live? ¹¹ 

Indeed ¹²  the Lord will live there ¹³  permanently!

Mazmur 73:28

73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. ¹⁴ 

I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,

as ¹⁵  I declare all the things you have done.

Mazmur 81:5

81:5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,

when he attacked the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ 

I heard a voice I did not recognize. ¹⁷ 

[46:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ² sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ³ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[62:8]  ⁵ tn To “pour out one’s heart” means to offer up to God intense, emotional lamentation and petitionary prayers (see Lam 2:19).

[68:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

[68:6]  ⁸ tn Or “in a parched [land].”

[68:6]  sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.

[68:16]  ⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).

[68:16]  ¹⁰ tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.

[68:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.

[68:16]  ¹² tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.

[68:16]  ¹³ tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[73:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”

[73:28]  ¹⁵ tn The infinitive construct with -לְ (lÿ) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).

[81:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in his going out against the land of Egypt.” This apparently refers to the general time period of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The LXX reads, “from Egypt,” in which case “Joseph” (see the preceding line) would be the subject of the verb, “when he [Joseph = Israel] left Egypt.”

[81:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a lip I did not know, I heard.” Here the term “lip” probably stands for speech or a voice. Apparently the psalmist speaks here and refers to God’s voice, whose speech is recorded in the following verses.