Mazmur 63:4

63:4 For this reason ¹  I will praise you while I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands. ² 

Mazmur 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ³ 

may the Lord remove them, ⁴  along with those who behave wickedly! ⁵ 

May Israel experience peace! ⁶ 

Mazmur 134:2

134:2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary

and praise the Lord!

Mazmur 141:2

141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,

my uplifted hands like the evening offering! ⁷ 

Mazmur 143:6

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ⁸ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ⁹  land. ¹⁰ 

[63:4]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “then.”

[63:4]  ² sn I will lift up my hands. Lifting up one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19) or respect (Ps 119:48).

[125:5]  ³ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[141:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

[143:6]  ⁸ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).