Mazmur 6:4

6:4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! ¹ 

Deliver me because of your faithfulness! ² 

Mazmur 25:11

25:11 For the sake of your reputation, ³  O Lord,

forgive my sin, because it is great. ⁴ 

Mazmur 38:5

38:5 My wounds ⁵  are infected and starting to smell, ⁶ 

because of my foolish sins. ⁷ 

Mazmur 49:5

49:5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, ⁸ 

when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me? ⁹ 

Mazmur 78:26

78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky,

and by his strength led forth the south wind.

Mazmur 102:8

102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me;

those who mock me use my name in their curses. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 107:17

107:17 They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, ¹¹ 

and suffered because of their sins.

Mazmur 118:24

118:24 This is the day the Lord has brought about. ¹² 

We will be happy and rejoice in it.

Mazmur 132:10

132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,

do not reject your chosen king! ¹³ 

[6:4]  ¹ tn Heb “my being,” or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:4]  ² sn Deliver me because of your faithfulness. Though the psalmist is experiencing divine discipline, he realizes that God has made a commitment to him in the past, so he appeals to God’s faithfulness in his request for help.

[25:11]  ³ tn Heb “name.” By forgiving the sinful psalmist, the Lord’s reputation as a merciful God will be enhanced.

[25:11]  ⁴ sn Forgive my sin, because it is great. The psalmist readily admits his desperate need for forgiveness.

[38:5]  ⁵ sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.

[38:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).

[38:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”

[49:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “days of trouble.” The phrase also occurs in Ps 94:13. The question is rhetorical; there is no reason to be afraid when the rich oppressors threaten the weak (see v. 17). The following verses explain why this is so.

[49:5]  ⁹ tc The MT has, “the iniquity of my heels surrounds me.” The clause is best understood as temporal and as elaborating on the preceding phrase “times of trouble.” If the MT is retained, the genitive “of my heels” would probably indicate location (“the iniquity at my heels”); the sinful actions of the rich threaten to overtake the psalmist, as it were. It is better, however, to emend עֲקֵבַי (’aqivay, “my heels”) to either (1) עֲקֻבַּי (’aqubay, “my deceitful ones,” i.e., “those who deceive me” [from the adjective עָקֹב (’aqov), “deceitful,” see Jer 17:9]) or (2) עֹקְבַי (’oqÿvay, “those who deceive me” [a suffixed active participle from עָקַב, ’aqav, “betray, deceive”]). Origen’s transliteration of the Hebrew text favors the first of these options. Either of the emendations provides a much smoother transition to v. 6, because “those who trust in their wealth” would then be appositional to “those who deceive me.”

[102:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “by me they swear.” When the psalmist’s enemies call judgment down on others, they hold the psalmist up as a prime example of what they desire their enemies to become.

[107:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “fools [they were] because of the way of their rebellion.”

[118:24]  ¹² tn Heb “this is the day the Lord has made.” Though sometimes applied in a general way, this statement in its context refers to the day of deliverance which the psalmist and people celebrate.

[132:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”