Mazmur 49:12

49:12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, ¹ 

they are like animals ²  that perish. ³ 

Mazmur 91:11

91:11 For he will order his angels ⁴ 

to protect you in all you do. ⁵ 

Mazmur 118:5

118:5 In my distress ⁶  I cried out to the Lord.

The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place. ⁷ 

Mazmur 146:4

146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;

on that day their plans die. ⁸ 

Mazmur 148:5

148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for he gave the command and they came into existence.

[49:12]  ¹ tn Heb “but mankind in honor does not remain.” The construction vav (ו) + noun at the beginning of the verse can be taken as contrastive in relation to what precedes. The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some scholars emend יָלִין (yalin, “remains”) to יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 20.

[49:12]  ² tn Or “cattle.”

[49:12]  ³ tn The verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease; destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (“be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [דָּמָה, “be silent,” and דָּמָה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense in v. 20, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

[91:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”

[91:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “in all your ways.”

[118:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the distress.” The noun מֵצַר (metsar, “straits; distress”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:3. In Ps 116:3 מצר should probably be emended to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”).

[118:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord answered me in a wide open place.”

[146:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.