Mazmur 4:7

4:7 You make me happier ¹ 

than those who have abundant grain and wine. ² 

Mazmur 23:6

23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness ³  will pursue ⁴  me all my days, ⁵ 

and I will live in ⁶  the Lord’s house ⁷  for the rest of my life. ⁸ 

Mazmur 25:6

25:6 Remember ⁹  your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,

for you have always acted in this manner. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 31:15

31:15 You determine my destiny! ¹¹ 

Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.

Mazmur 33:18

33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, ¹² 

those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness ¹³ 

Mazmur 35:13

35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, ¹⁴ 

and refrained from eating food. ¹⁵ 

(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 45:12

45:12 Rich people from Tyre ¹⁷ 

will seek your favor by bringing a gift. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 49:13

49:13 This is the destiny of fools, ¹⁹ 

and of those who approve of their philosophy. ²⁰  (Selah)

Mazmur 49:17

49:17 For he will take nothing with him when he dies;

his wealth will not follow him down into the grave. ²¹ 

Mazmur 55:10

55:10 Day and night they walk around on its walls, ²² 

while wickedness and destruction ²³  are within it.

Mazmur 56:9

56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; ²⁴ 

I know that God is on my side. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 58:10

58:10 The godly ²⁶  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Mazmur 66:6

66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; ²⁷ 

they passed through the river on foot. ²⁸ 

Let us rejoice in him there! ²⁹ 

Mazmur 68:3

68:3 But the godly ³⁰  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ³¹ 

Mazmur 68:9

68:9 O God, you cause abundant showers to fall ³²  on your chosen people. ³³ 

When they ³⁴  are tired, you sustain them, ³⁵ 

Mazmur 71:20

71:20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress, ³⁶ 

revive me once again! ³⁷ 

Bring me up once again ³⁸  from the depths of the earth!

Mazmur 72:15

72:15 May he live! ³⁹  May they offer him gold from Sheba! ⁴⁰ 

May they continually pray for him!

May they pronounce blessings on him all day long! ⁴¹ 

Mazmur 81:3

81:3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon, ⁴² 

and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins. ⁴³ 

Mazmur 90:9

90:9 Yes, ⁴⁴  throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; ⁴⁵ 

the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 90:14

90:14 Satisfy us in the morning ⁴⁷  with your loyal love!

Then we will shout for joy and be happy ⁴⁸  all our days!

Mazmur 96:12

96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!

Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy

Mazmur 97:8

97:8 Zion hears and rejoices,

the towns ⁴⁹  of Judah are happy,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

Mazmur 102:15

102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, ⁵⁰ 

and all the kings of the earth will respect ⁵¹  his splendor,

Mazmur 111:10

111:10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; ⁵² 

all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. ⁵³ 

He will receive praise forever. ⁵⁴ 

Mazmur 145:13

145:13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, ⁵⁵ 

and your dominion endures through all generations.

[4:7]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[23:6]  ³ tn The noun חֶסֶד (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”

[23:6]  ⁴ tn The use of רָדַף (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with טוֹב וָחֶסֶד (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb רָדַף (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.

[23:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “all the days of my life.”

[23:6]  ⁶ tn The verb form וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the Lord.” The term שׁוּב (shuv) appears only here with the following phrase בְּבֵית (bÿvet). The form should be emended to וְשִׁבְתִּי (vÿshivtiy; an infinitive construct from יָשַׁב, yashav, “live”) with pronominal suffix) or to וְיָשַׁבְתִּי (vÿyashavtiy; a Qal perfect with vav [ו] consecutive, first common singular, from ישׁב [see BHS, note c]). In either case one could then translate, “and I will live [in the house of the Lord].” The phrase “in the house” frequently follows the verb יָשַׁב in the OT.

[23:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “the house of the Lord.” The phrase may be purely metaphorical here, referring to the royal palace where the royal host of v. 5 holds his banquet and lives. If one takes the phrase more literally, it would refer to the earthly tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the later temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[23:6]  ⁸ tn The phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the Lord’s blessings and should not be taken literally.

[25:6]  ⁹ tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.

[25:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”

[31:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”

[33:18]  ¹² tn Heb “look, the eye of the Lord [is] toward the ones who fear him.” The expression “the eye…[is] toward” here indicates recognition and the bestowing of favor. See Ps 34:15. The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.

[33:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”

[35:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.” Sackcloth was worn by mourners. When the psalmist’s enemies were sick, he was sorry for their misfortune and mourned for them.

[35:13]  ¹⁵ sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[35:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and my prayer upon my chest will return.” One could translate, “but my prayer was returning upon my chest,” but the use of the imperfect verbal form sets this line apart from the preceding and following lines (vv. 13a, 14), which use the perfect to describe the psalmist’s past actions.

[45:12]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[45:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and a daughter of Tyre with a gift, your face they will appease, the rich of people.” The phrase “daughter of Tyre” occurs only here in the OT. It could be understood as addressed to the bride, indicating she was a Phoenician (cf. NEB). However, often in the OT the word “daughter,” when collocated with the name of a city or country, is used to personify the referent (see, for example, “Daughter Zion” in Ps 9:14, and “Daughter Babylon” in Ps 137:8). If that is the case here, then “Daughter Tyre” identifies the city-state of Tyre as the place from which the rich people come (cf. NRSV). The idiom “appease the face” refers to seeking one’s favor (see Exod 32:11; 1 Sam 13:12; 1 Kgs 13:6; 2 Kgs 13:4; 2 Chr 33:12; Job 11:19; Ps 119:58; Prov 19:6; Jer 26:19; Dan 9:13; Zech 7:2; 8:21-22; Mal 1:9).

[49:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “this [is] their way, [there is] folly [belonging] to them.” The Hebrew term translated “this” could refer (1) back to the preceding verse[s] or (2) ahead to the subsequent statements. The translation assumes the latter, since v. 12 appears to be a refrain that concludes the psalm’s first major section and marks a structural boundary. (A similar refrain [see v. 20] concludes the second half of the psalm.) The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) often refers to one’s lifestyle, but, if it relates to what follows, then here it likely refers metonymically to one’s destiny (the natural outcome of one’s lifestyle [cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “fate”]). (See the discussion in K. Koch, TDOT 3:285.) If one prefers the more common nuance (“lifestyle”), then the term would look back to the self-confident attitude described in the earlier verses.

[49:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and after them, in their mouth they take delight.” The meaning of the MT is not entirely clear. “After them” is understood here as substantival, “those who come after them” or “those who follow them.” “Their mouth” is taken as a metonymy for the arrogant attitude verbalized by the rich. In the expression “take delight in,” the preposition -ב (bet) introduces the object/cause of one’s delight (see Pss 147:10; 149:4). So the idea here is that those who come after/follow the rich find the philosophy of life they verbalize and promote to be attractive and desirable.

[49:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “his glory will not go down after him.”

[55:10]  ²² tn Heb “day and night they surround it, upon its walls.” Personified “violence and conflict” are the likely subjects. They are compared to watchmen on the city’s walls.

[55:10]  ²³ sn Wickedness and destruction. These terms are also closely associated in Ps 7:14.

[56:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.

[56:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”

[58:10]  ²⁶ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[66:6]  ²⁷ sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[66:6]  ²⁸ tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).

[66:6]  ²⁹ tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[68:3]  ³⁰ tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

[68:9]  ³² tn The verb נוּף (nuf, “cause rain to fall”) is a homonym of the more common נוּף (“brandish”).

[68:9]  ³³ tn Heb “[on] your inheritance.” This refers to Israel as God’s specially chosen people (see Pss 28:9; 33:12; 74:2; 78:62, 71; 79:1; 94:5, 14; 106:40). Some take “your inheritance” with what follows, but the vav (ו) prefixed to the following word (note וְנִלְאָה, vÿnil’ah) makes this syntactically unlikely.

[68:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “it [is],” referring to God’s “inheritance.”

[68:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “it,” referring to God’s “inheritance.”

[71:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “you who have caused me to see many harmful distresses.”

[71:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “you return, you give me life.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will revive me once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[71:20]  ³⁸ tn Heb “you return, you bring me up.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will bring me up once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[72:15]  ³⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. Because the form has the prefixed vav (ו), some subordinate it to what precedes as a purpose/result clause. In this case the representative poor individual might be the subject of this and the following verb, “so that he may live and give to him gold of Sheba.” But the idea of the poor offering gold is incongruous. It is better to take the jussive as a prayer with the king as subject of the verb. (Perhaps the initial vav is dittographic; note the vav at the end of the last form in v. 14.) The statement is probably an abbreviated version of the formula יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ (yÿkhiy hammelekh, “may the king live”; see 1 Sam 10:24; 2 Sam 16:16; 1 Kgs 1:25, 34, 39; 2 Kgs 11:12).

[72:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and he will give to him some gold of Sheba.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one give”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are the tribute bearers in view here.

[72:15]  ⁴¹ tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one pray…and may one bless”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are in view here.

[81:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “at the new moon.”

[81:3]  sn New moon festivals were a monthly ritual in Israel (see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 469-70). In this context the New Moon festival of the seventh month, when the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated (note the reference to a “festival” in the next line), may be in view.

[81:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “at the full moon on the day of our festival.” The Hebrew word כֶּסֶה (keseh) is an alternate spelling of כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”).

[81:3]  sn The festival in view is probably the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), which began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month when the moon was full. See Lev 23:34; Num 29:12.

[90:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “for.”

[90:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “all our days pass by in your anger.”

[90:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “we finish our years like a sigh.” In Ezek 2:10 the word הֶגֶה (hegeh) elsewhere refers to a grumbling or moaning sound. Here a brief sigh or moan is probably in view. If so, the simile pictures one’s lifetime as transient. Another option is that the simile alludes to the weakness that characteristically overtakes a person at the end of one’s lifetime. In this case the phrase could be translated, “we end our lives with a painful moan.”

[90:14]  ⁴⁷ sn Morning is used metaphorically for a time of renewed joy after affliction (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 49:14; 59:16; 143:8).

[90:14]  ⁴⁸ tn After the imperative (see the preceding line) the cohortatives with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose/result.

[97:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[102:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “will fear the name of the Lord.” 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).

[102:15]  ⁵¹ tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[111:10]  ⁵² tn Heb “the beginning of wisdom [is] the fear of the Lord.”

[111:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “good sense [is] to all who do them.” The third masculine plural pronominal suffix must refer back to the “precepts” mentioned in v. 7. In the translation the referent has been specified for clarity. The phrase שֵׂכֶל טוֹב (shekhel tov) also occurs in Prov 3:4; 13:15 and 2 Chr 30:22.

[111:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”

[145:13]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “a kingdom of all ages.”