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 25:4

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ⁴ 

Mazmur 25:12

25:12 The Lord shows his faithful followers

the way they should live. ⁵ 

Mazmur 27:11

27:11 Teach me how you want me to live; ⁶ 

lead me along a level path ⁷  because of those who wait to ambush me! ⁸ 

Mazmur 119:33

ה (He)

119:33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes, ⁹ 

so that I might observe it continually. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 119:73

י (Yod)

119:73 Your hands made me and formed me. ¹¹ 

Give me understanding so that I might learn ¹²  your commands.

Mazmur 143:8-10

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ¹³ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ¹⁴ 

because I long for you. ¹⁵ 

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

I run to you for protection. ¹⁶ 

143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, ¹⁷ 

for you are my God.

May your kind presence ¹⁸ 

lead me ¹⁹  into a level land. ²⁰ 

[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).

[25:4]  ⁴ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[25:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”).

[27:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles which he expects the psalmist to follow. See Ps 25:4.

[27:11]  ⁷ sn The level path refers to God’s moral principles (see the parallel line), which, if followed, will keep the psalmist blameless before his accusers (see v. 12).

[27:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.

[119:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “the way of your statutes.”

[119:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will keep it to the end.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative. The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (’eqev) is understood to mean “end” here. Another option is to take עֵקֶב (’eqev) as meaning “reward” here (see Ps 19:11) and to translate, “so that I might observe it and be rewarded.”

[119:73]  ¹¹ tn Heb “made me and established me.” The two verbs also appear together in Deut 32:6, where God, compared to a father, is said to have “made and established” Israel.

[119:73]  ¹² tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[143:8]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.

[143:10]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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.