Mazmur 51:5

51:5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,

a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. ¹ 

Mazmur 73:24

73:24 You guide ²  me by your wise advice,

and then you will lead me to a position of honor. ³ 

Mazmur 112:7

112:7 He does not fear bad news.

He ⁴  is confident; he trusts ⁵  in the Lord.

Mazmur 122:1

Psalm 122 ⁶ 

A song of ascents, ⁷  by David.

122:1 I was glad because ⁸  they said to me,

“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”

[51:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Look, in wrongdoing I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The prefixed verbal form in the second line is probably a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive), stating a simple historical fact. The psalmist is not suggesting that he was conceived through an inappropriate sexual relationship (although the verse has sometimes been understood to mean that, or even that all sexual relationships are sinful). The psalmist’s point is that he has been a sinner from the very moment his personal existence began. By going back beyond the time of birth to the moment of conception, the psalmist makes his point more emphatically in the second line than in the first.

[73:24]  ² tn The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.

[73:24]  ³ tn Heb “and afterward [to] glory you will take me.” Some interpreters view this as the psalmist’s confidence in an afterlife in God’s presence and understand כָּבוֹד (cavod) as a metonymic reference to God’s presence in heaven. But this seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist anticipates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “take”) here carries the nuance “lead, guide, conduct,” as in Num 23:14, 27-28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.

[112:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition and emotions (see Ps 108:1).

[112:7]  ⁵ tn The passive participle בָּטֻחַ [בָּטוּחַ] (batuakh [batuakh]) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action. See Isa 26:3.

[122:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.

[122:1]  ⁷ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[122:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.