Mazmur 5:11

5:11 But may all who take shelter ¹  in you be happy! ² 

May they continually ³  shout for joy! ⁴ 

Shelter them ⁵  so that those who are loyal to you ⁶  may rejoice! ⁷ 

Mazmur 39:5

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, ⁸ 

and my life span is nothing from your perspective. ⁹ 

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 70:1

Psalm 70 ¹¹ 

For the music director; by David; written to get God’s attention. ¹² 

70:1 O God, please be willing to rescue me! ¹³ 

O Lord, hurry and help me! ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 81:1

Psalm 81 ¹⁵ 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ¹⁶  by Asaph.

81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!

Shout out to the God of Jacob!

Mazmur 83:1

Psalm 83 ¹⁷ 

A song, a psalm of Asaph.

83:1 O God, do not be silent!

Do not ignore us! ¹⁸  Do not be inactive, O God!

[5:11]  ¹ sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[5:11]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer. The psalmist calls on God to reward his faithful followers.

[5:11]  ³ tn Or perhaps more hyperbolically, “forever.”

[5:11]  ⁴ tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer.

[5:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “put a cover over them.” The verb form is a Hiphil imperfect from סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “cover, shut off”). The imperfect expresses the psalmist’s wish or request.

[5:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “the lovers of your name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to the Lord. See Pss 69:36; 119:132; Isa 56:6.

[5:11]  ⁷ tn The vav (ו) with prefixed verbal form following the volitional “shelter them” indicates purpose or result (“so that those…may rejoice).

[39:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.

[39:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”

[39:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”

[70:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 70. This psalm is almost identical to Ps 40:13-17. The psalmist asks for God’s help and for divine retribution against his enemies.

[70:1]  ¹² tn Heb “to cause to remember.” The same form, a Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the superscription of Ps 38. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).

[70:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “O God, to rescue me.” A main verb is obviously missing. The verb רָצָה (ratsah, “be willing”) should be supplied (see Ps 40:13). Ps 40:13 uses the divine name “Lord” rather than “God.”

[70:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.

[81:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 81. The psalmist calls God’s people to assemble for a festival and then proclaims God’s message to them. The divine speech (vv. 6-16) recalls how God delivered the people from Egypt, reminds Israel of their rebellious past, expresses God’s desire for his people to obey him, and promises divine protection in exchange for obedience.

[81:1]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument. See the superscription to Ps 8.

[83:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 83. The psalmist asks God to deliver Israel from the attacks of foreign nations. Recalling how God defeated Israel’s enemies in the days of Deborah and Gideon, he prays that the hostile nations would be humiliated.

[83:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “do not be deaf.”