Mazmur 7:6

7:6 Stand up angrily, ¹  Lord!

Rise up with raging fury against my enemies! ² 

Wake up for my sake and execute the judgment you have decreed for them! ³ 

Mazmur 7:9

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ⁴  come to an end! ⁵ 

But make the innocent ⁶  secure, ⁷ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ⁸  inner thoughts and motives! ⁹ 

Mazmur 9:10

9:10 Your loyal followers trust in you, ¹⁰ 

for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 18:15

18:15 The depths ¹²  of the sea ¹³  were exposed;

the inner regions ¹⁴  of the world were uncovered

by ¹⁵  your battle cry, ¹⁶  Lord,

by the powerful breath from your nose. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 21:1

Psalm 21 ¹⁸ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; ¹⁹ 

he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 26:1

Psalm 26 ²¹ 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, ²² 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

Mazmur 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ²³ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ²⁴  mankind and the animal kingdom. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 85:1

Psalm 85 ²⁶ 

For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.

85:1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;

you restored the well-being of Jacob. ²⁷ 

Mazmur 86:17

86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! ²⁸ 

Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, ²⁹ 

for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 92:1

Psalm 92 ³¹ 

A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.

92:1 It is fitting ³²  to thank the Lord,

and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One! ³³ 

Mazmur 140:4

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ³⁴  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ³⁶ 

Do not reject me, ³⁷ 

or I will join ³⁸  those descending into the grave. ³⁹ 

[7:6]  ¹ tn Heb “in your anger.”

[7:6]  ² tn Heb “Lift yourself up in the angry outbursts of my enemies.” Many understand the preposition prefixed to עַבְרוֹת (’avrot, “angry outbursts”) as adversative, “against,” and the following genitive “enemies” as subjective. In this case one could translate, “rise up against my furious enemies” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The present translation, however, takes the preposition as indicating manner (cf. “in your anger” in the previous line) and understands the plural form of the noun as indicating an abstract quality (“fury”) or excessive degree (“raging fury”). Cf. Job 21:30.

[7:6]  ³ tc Heb “Wake up to me [with the] judgment [which] you have commanded.” The LXX understands אֵלִי (’eliy, “my God”) instead of אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”; the LXX reading is followed by NEB, NIV, NRSV.) If the reading of the MT is retained, the preposition probably has the sense of “on account of, for the sake of.” The noun מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “judgment”) is probably an adverbial accusative, modifying the initial imperative, “wake up.” In this case צִוִּיתָ (tsivvita, “[which] you have commanded”) is an asyndetic relative clause. Some take the perfect as precative. In this case one could translate the final line, “Wake up for my sake! Decree judgment!” (cf. NIV). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.

[7:9]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ⁶ tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.

[7:9]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

[7:9]  ⁸ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.

[7:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[9:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the ones who know your name trust in you.” The construction vav (ו) conjunctive + imperfect at the beginning of the verse expresses another consequence of the statement made in v. 8. “To know” the Lord’s “name” means to be his follower, recognizing his authority and maintaining loyalty to him. See Ps 91:14, where “knowing” the Lord’s “name” is associated with loving him.

[9:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ones who seek you.”

[18:15]  ¹² tn Or “channels.”

[18:15]  ¹³ tc Ps 18:15 reads “water” (cf. Ps 42:1); “sea” is the reading of 2 Sam 22:16.

[18:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “foundations.”

[18:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from.” The preposition has a causal sense here.

[18:15]  ¹⁶ tn The noun is derived from the verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[18:15]  ¹⁷ tn 2 Sam 22:16 reads “by the battle cry of the Lord, by the blast of the breath of his nose.” The phrase “blast of the breath” (Heb “breath of breath”) employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[21:1]  ¹⁸ sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.

[21:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).

[21:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”

[26:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

[26:1]  ²² tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

[36:6]  ²³ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ²⁴ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ²⁵ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[85:1]  ²⁶ sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.

[85:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.

[86:17]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

[86:17]  ²⁹ tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

[86:17]  ³⁰ tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).

[92:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.

[92:1]  ³² tn Or “good.”

[92:1]  ³³ tn Traditionally “O Most High.”

[140:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “to push down my steps.”

[143:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.