Mazmur 57:8

57:8 Awake, my soul! ¹ 

Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!

I will wake up at dawn! ² 

Mazmur 71:22

71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,

praising ³  your faithfulness, O my God!

I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,

O Holy One of Israel! ⁴ 

Mazmur 81:2

81:2 Sing ⁵  a song and play the tambourine,

the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!

[57:8]  ¹ tn Heb “glory,” but that makes little sense in the context. Some view כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”

[57:8]  ² tn BDB 1007 s.v. שַׁחַר takes “dawn” as an adverbial accusative, though others understand it as a personified direct object. “Dawn” is used metaphorically for the time of deliverance and vindication the psalmist anticipates. When salvation “dawns,” the psalmist will “wake up” in praise.

[71:22]  ³ tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[71:22]  ⁴ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior.

[81:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “lift up.”