Mazmur 5:1

Psalm 5 ¹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ²  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ³  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ⁴ 

Mazmur 5:3

5:3 Lord, in the morning ⁵  you will hear ⁶  me; ⁷ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁸  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ⁹ 

Mazmur 9:2

9:2 I will be happy and rejoice in you!

I will sing praises to you, O sovereign One! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 9:11

9:11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules ¹¹  in Zion!

Tell the nations what he has done! ¹² 

Mazmur 18:17

18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, ¹³ 

from those who hate me,

for they were too strong for me.

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 39:8

39:8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion!

Do not make me the object of fools’ insults!

Mazmur 41:13

41:13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise ¹⁷ 

in the future and forevermore! ¹⁸ 

We agree! We agree! ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 44:10

44:10 You made us retreat ²⁰  from the enemy.

Those who hate us take whatever they want from us. ²¹ 

Mazmur 61:8

61:8 Then I will sing praises to your name continually, ²² 

as I fulfill ²³  my vows day after day.

Mazmur 68:10

68:10 for you live among them. ²⁴ 

You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God.

Mazmur 78:11

78:11 They forgot what he had done, ²⁵ 

the amazing things he had shown them.

Mazmur 78:54

78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,

to this mountainous land ²⁶  which his right hand ²⁷  acquired.

Mazmur 84:1

Psalm 84 ²⁸ 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ²⁹  written by the Korahites, a psalm.

84:1 How lovely is the place where you live, ³⁰ 

O Lord who rules over all! ³¹ 

Mazmur 84:4

84:4 How blessed ³²  are those who live in your temple

and praise you continually! (Selah)

Mazmur 85:13

85:13 Deliverance goes ³³  before him,

and prepares ³⁴  a pathway for him. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 86:5

86:5 Certainly ³⁶  O Lord, you are kind ³⁷  and forgiving,

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

Mazmur 90:4

90:4 Yes, ³⁸  in your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday that quickly passes,

or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. ³⁹ 

Mazmur 106:48

106:48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise, ⁴⁰ 

in the future and forevermore. ⁴¹ 

Let all the people say, “We agree! ⁴²  Praise the Lord!” ⁴³ 

Mazmur 109:18

109:18 He made cursing a way of life, ⁴⁴ 

so curses poured into his stomach like water

and seeped into his bones like oil. ⁴⁵ 

Mazmur 122:4

122:4 The tribes go up ⁴⁶  there, ⁴⁷ 

the tribes of the Lord,

where it is required that Israel

give thanks to the name of the Lord. ⁴⁸ 

[5:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.

[5:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.

[5:3]  ⁵ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ⁶ tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I will watch.”

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[to] your name, O Most High.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyo/) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[9:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “sits” (i.e., enthroned, and therefore ruling – see v. 4). Another option is to translate as “lives” or “dwells.”

[9:11]  ¹² tn Heb “declare among the nations his deeds.”

[18:17]  ¹³ tn The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.

[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.

[41:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[41:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” See 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5; Pss 90:2; 106:48.

[41:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.

[44:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you caused us to turn backward.”

[44:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “plunder for themselves.” The prepositional phrase לָמוֹ (lamo, “for themselves”) here has the nuance “at their will” or “as they please” (see Ps 80:6).

[61:8]  ²² tn Or “forever.”

[61:8]  ²³ tn Or perhaps, “and thereby fulfill.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[68:10]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear; it appears to read, “your animals, they live in it,” but this makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some suggest that חָיָּה (khayah) is a rare homonym here, meaning “community” (BDB 312 s.v.) or “dwelling place” (HALOT 310 s.v. III *הַיָּה). In this case one may take “your community/dwelling place” as appositional to the third feminine singular pronominal suffix at the end of v. 9, the antecedent of which is “your inheritance.” The phrase יָשְׁבוּ־בָהּ (yashvu-vah, “they live in it”) may then be understood as an asyndetic relative clause modifying “your community/dwelling place.” A literal translation of vv. 9b-10a would be, “when it [your inheritance] is tired, you sustain it, your community/dwelling place in [which] they live.”

[78:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his deeds.”

[78:54]  ²⁶ tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”

[78:54]  ²⁷ tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).

[84:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.

[84:1]  ²⁹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.

[84:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).

[84:1]  ³¹ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).

[84:4]  ³² tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[85:13]  ³³ tn Or “will go.”

[85:13]  ³⁴ tn Or “will prepare.”

[85:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (vÿyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (vÿshalom, “and peace”) since “deliverance” and “peace” are closely related earlier in v. 13. This could be translated, “and peace [goes ahead, making] a pathway for his footsteps” (cf. NEB).

[86:5]  ³⁶ tn Or “for.”

[86:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “good.”

[90:4]  ³⁸ tn Or “for.”

[90:4]  ³⁹ sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”

[106:48]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[106:48]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.”

[106:48]  ⁴² tn Heb “surely” (אָמֵן, ’amen), traditionally transliterated “amen.”

[106:48]  ⁴³ sn The final verse (v. 48) is a conclusion to this fourth “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and third “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52, respectively).

[109:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”

[109:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”

[122:4]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “went up.”

[122:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”

[122:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”