Mazmur 4:6

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

Mazmur 8:2

8:2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies

you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, ² 

so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy. ³ 

Mazmur 31:2

31:2 Listen to me! ⁴ 

Quickly deliver me!

Be my protector and refuge, ⁵ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ⁶ 

Mazmur 31:7

31:7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,

because you notice my pain

and you are aware of how distressed I am. ⁷ 

Mazmur 61:2

61:2 From the most remote place on earth ⁸ 

I call out to you in my despair. ⁹ 

Lead me ¹⁰  up to an inaccessible rocky summit! ¹¹ 

Mazmur 61:5

61:5 For you, O God, hear my vows;

you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers. ¹² 

Mazmur 65:1

Psalm 65 ¹³ 

For the music director; a psalm of David, a song.

65:1 Praise awaits you, ¹⁴  O God, in Zion.

Vows made to you are fulfilled.

Mazmur 85:1

Psalm 85 ¹⁵ 

For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.

85:1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;

you restored the well-being of Jacob. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 88:5

88:5 adrift ¹⁷  among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 92:1

Psalm 92 ¹⁹ 

A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.

92:1 It is fitting ²⁰  to thank the Lord,

and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One! ²¹ 

Mazmur 102:1

Psalm 102 ²² 

The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.

102:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!

Pay attention to my cry for help! ²³ 

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. 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 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[4:6]  sn Smile upon us. Though many are discouraged, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and transform the situation.

[8:2]  ² tn Heb “you establish strength because of your foes.” The meaning of the statement is unclear. The present translation follows the reading of the LXX which has “praise” (αἶνος, ainos) in place of “strength” (עֹז, ’oz); cf. NIV, NCV, NLT.

[8:2]  ³ tn Heb “to cause to cease an enemy and an avenger.” The singular forms are collective. The Hitpael participle of נָקַם (naqam) also occurs in Ps 44:16.

[31:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[31:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”

[31:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”

[31:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “you know the distresses of my life.”

[61:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).

[61:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “while my heart faints.”

[61:2]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[61:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”

[61:5]  ¹² tn Heb “you grant the inheritance of those who fear your name.” “Inheritance” is normally used of land which is granted as an inheritance; here it refers metaphorically to the blessings granted God’s loyal followers. To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).

[65:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 65. The psalmist praises God because he forgives sin and blesses his people with an abundant harvest.

[65:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for you, silence, praise.” Many prefer to emend the noun דֻּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”) to a participle דּוֹמִיָּה (domiyyah), from the root דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”), understood here in the sense of “wait.”

[85:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.

[85:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.

[88:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from your hand.”

[92:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.

[92:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “good.”

[92:1]  ²¹ tn Traditionally “O Most High.”

[102:1]  ²² sn Psalm 102. The psalmist laments his oppressed state, but longs for a day when the Lord will restore Jerusalem and vindicate his suffering people.

[102:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and may my cry for help come to you.”