Mazmur 4:6-7

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

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

4:7 You make me happier ² 

than those who have abundant grain and wine. ³ 

Mazmur 34:12

34:12 Do you want to really live? ⁴ 

Would you love to live a long, happy life? ⁵ 

[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.

[4:7]  ² tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”

[4:7]  ³ tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[34:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.

[34:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”