Mazmur 51:1

Psalm 51 ¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba. ² 

51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of ³  your loyal love!

Because of ⁴  your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! ⁵ 

Mazmur 78:38

78:38 Yet he is compassionate.

He forgives sin and does not destroy.

He often holds back his anger,

and does not stir up his fury. ⁶ 

Mazmur 86:5

86:5 Certainly ⁷  O Lord, you are kind ⁸  and forgiving,

and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.

Mazmur 86:15

86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.

You are patient ⁹  and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 103:8

103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;

he is patient ¹¹  and demonstrates great loyal love. ¹² 

Mazmur 103:13

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ¹³ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 116:5

116:5 The Lord is merciful and fair;

our God is compassionate.

Mazmur 119:132

119:132 Turn toward me and extend mercy to me,

as you typically do to your loyal followers. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 136:1-26

Psalm 136 ¹⁶ 

136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his loyal love endures. ¹⁷ 

136:2 Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his loyal love endures.

136:3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his loyal love endures,

136:4 to the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself,

for his loyal love endures,

136:5 to the one who used wisdom to make the heavens,

for his loyal love endures,

136:6 to the one who spread out the earth over the water,

for his loyal love endures,

136:7 to the one who made the great lights,

for his loyal love endures,

136:8 the sun to rule by day,

for his loyal love endures,

136:9 the moon and stars to rule by night,

for his loyal love endures,

136:10 to the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his loyal love endures,

136:11 and led Israel out from their midst,

for his loyal love endures,

136:12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his loyal love endures,

136:13 to the one who divided ¹⁸  the Red Sea ¹⁹  in two, ²⁰ 

for his loyal love endures,

136:14 and led Israel through its midst,

for his loyal love endures,

136:15 and tossed ²¹  Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

for his loyal love endures,

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

136:17 to the one who struck down great kings,

for his loyal love endures,

136:18 and killed powerful kings,

for his loyal love endures,

136:19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his loyal love endures,

136:20 Og, king of Bashan,

for his loyal love endures,

136:21 and gave their land as an inheritance,

for his loyal love endures,

136:22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant,

for his loyal love endures,

136:23 to the one who remembered us when we were down, ²² 

for his loyal love endures,

136:24 and snatched us away from our enemies,

for his loyal love endures,

136:25 to the one who gives food to all living things, ²³ 

for his loyal love endures.

136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,

for his loyal love endures!

[51:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. The exiles could relate to David’s experience, for they, like him, and had been forced to confront their sin. They appropriated David’s ancient prayer and applied it to their own circumstances.

[51:1]  ² tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”

[51:1]  ³ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ⁴ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ⁵ tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”

[78:38]  ⁶ tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.

[86:5]  ⁷ tn Or “for.”

[86:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “good.”

[86:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “slow to anger.”

[86:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”

[86:15]  sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.

[103:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).

[103:8]  ¹² tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).

[103:13]  ¹³ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[119:132]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “according to custom toward the lovers of your name.” The “lovers of” God’s “name” are the Lord’s loyal followers. See Pss 5:11; 69:36; Isa 56:6.

[136:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 136. In this hymn the psalmist affirms that God is praiseworthy because of his enduring loyal love, sovereign authority, and compassion. Each verse of the psalm concludes with the refrain “for his loyal love endures.”

[136:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “is forever.”

[136:13]  ¹⁸ tn Or “cut.”

[136:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in v. 15). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.

[136:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “into pieces.”

[136:15]  ²¹ tn Or “shook off.”

[136:23]  ²² tn Heb “who, in our low condition, remembered us.”

[136:25]  ²³ tn Heb “to all flesh,” which can refer to all people (see Pss 65:2; 145:21) or more broadly to mankind and animals. Elsewhere the psalms view God as the provider for all living things (see Pss 104:27-28; 145:15).