Mazmur 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ¹ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ² 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ³ 

Mazmur 107:2-8

107:2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out, ⁴ 

those whom he delivered ⁵  from the power ⁶  of the enemy,

107:3 and gathered from foreign lands, ⁷ 

from east and west,

from north and south.

107:4 They wandered through the wilderness on a desert road;

they found no city in which to live.

107:5 They were hungry and thirsty;

they fainted from exhaustion. ⁸ 

107:6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

107:7 He led them on a level road, ⁹ 

that they might find a city in which to live.

107:8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,

and for the amazing things he has done for people! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 143:8-10

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ¹¹ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ¹² 

because I long for you. ¹³ 

143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord!

I run to you for protection. ¹⁴ 

143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, ¹⁵ 

for you are my God.

May your kind presence ¹⁶ 

lead me ¹⁷  into a level land. ¹⁸ 

[5:8]  ¹ tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.

[5:8]  ² tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).

[107:2]  ⁴ tn Or “let the redeemed of the Lord say [so].”

[107:2]  ⁵ tn Or “redeemed.”

[107:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[107:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “from lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[107:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “and their soul in them fainted.”

[107:7]  ⁹ sn A level road. See Jer 31:9.

[107:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.”

[143:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).

[143:8]  ¹² sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).

[143:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nastiy, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of kaf (כ) and nun (נ) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (’el, “to”) is well-attested.

[143:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.

[143:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

[143:10]  ¹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:10]  ¹⁸ sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.