Mazmur 1:2

1:2 Instead ¹  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ² 

he meditates on ³  his commands ⁴  day and night.

Mazmur 10:6

10:6 He says to himself, ⁵ 

“I will never ⁶  be upended,

because I experience no calamity.” ⁷ 

Mazmur 16:2

16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,

my only source of well-being.” ⁸ 

Mazmur 16:5-6

16:5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; ⁹ 

you make my future secure. ¹⁰ 

16:6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields

or received a beautiful tract of land. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 33:13

33:13 The Lord watches ¹²  from heaven;

he sees all people. ¹³ 

Mazmur 38:4

38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; ¹⁴ 

like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.

Mazmur 41:7

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; ¹⁵ 

they plan ways to harm me.

Mazmur 48:3

48:3 God is in its fortresses;

he reveals himself as its defender. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 57:2

57:2 I cry out for help to the sovereign God, ¹⁷ 

to the God who vindicates ¹⁸  me.

Mazmur 69:11

69:11 I wear sackcloth

and they ridicule me. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 71:8

71:8 I praise you constantly

and speak of your splendor all day long. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 73:17

73:17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, ²¹ 

and understood the destiny of the wicked. ²² 

Mazmur 74:5

74:5 They invade like lumberjacks

swinging their axes in a thick forest. ²³ 

Mazmur 77:4

77:4 You held my eyelids open; ²⁴ 

I was troubled and could not speak. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 78:14

78:14 He led them with a cloud by day,

and with the light of a fire all night long.

Mazmur 81:2

81:2 Sing ²⁶  a song and play the tambourine,

the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!

Mazmur 83:13

83:13 O my God, make them like dead thistles, ²⁷ 

like dead weeds blown away by ²⁸  the wind!

Mazmur 89:37

89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon, ²⁹ 

his throne will endure like the skies.” ³⁰  (Selah)

Mazmur 90:1

Book 4
(Psalms 90-106)

Psalm 90 ³¹ 

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90:1 O Lord, you have been our protector ³²  through all generations!

Mazmur 96:8

96:8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves! ³³ 

Bring an offering and enter his courts!

Mazmur 101:4

101:4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person; ³⁴ 

I will not permit ³⁵  evil.

Mazmur 103:1

Psalm 103 ³⁶ 

By David.

103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

With all that is within me, praise ³⁷  his holy name!

Mazmur 104:18

104:18 The wild goats live in the high mountains; ³⁸ 

the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.

Mazmur 105:16

105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth;

he cut off all the food supply. ³⁹ 

Mazmur 105:39

105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, ⁴⁰ 

and provided a fire to light up the night.

Mazmur 105:41

105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;

a river ran through dry regions.

Mazmur 106:19

106:19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,

and worshiped a metal idol.

Mazmur 107:4

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

they found no city in which to live.

Mazmur 115:5

115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

Mazmur 116:12

116:12 How can I repay the Lord

for all his acts of kindness to me?

Mazmur 119:96

119:96 I realize that everything has its limits,

but your commands are beyond full comprehension. ⁴¹ 

Mazmur 136:21-22

136:21 and gave their land as an inheritance,

for his loyal love endures,

136:22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant,

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 146:6

146:6 the one who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who remains forever faithful, ⁴² 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead”) introduces a contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “his delight [is] in the law of the Lord.” In light of the following line, which focuses on studying the Lord’s law, one might translate, “he finds pleasure in studying the Lord’s commands.” However, even if one translates the line this way, it is important to recognize that mere study and intellectual awareness are not ultimately what bring divine favor. Study of the law is metonymic here for the correct attitudes and behavior that should result from an awareness of and commitment to God’s moral will; thus “obeying” has been used in the translation rather than “studying.”

[1:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the characteristic behavior described here and lends support to the hyperbolic adverbial phrase “day and night.” The verb הָגָה (hagag) means “to recite quietly; to meditate” and refers metonymically to intense study and reflection.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Or “his law.”

[10:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “he says in his heart/mind.”

[10:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “for a generation and a generation.” The traditional accentuation of the MT understands these words with the following line.

[10:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “who, not in calamity.” If אֲשֶׁר (’asher) is taken as a relative pronoun here, then one could translate, “[I] who [am] not in calamity.” Some emend אֲשֶׁר to אֹשֶׁר (’osher, “happiness”; see HALOT 99 s.v. אֹשֶׁר); one might then translate, “[I live in] happiness, not in calamity.” The present translation assumes that אֲשֶׁר functions here as a causal conjunction, “because, for.” For this use of אֲשֶׁר, see BDB 83 s.v. אֲשֶׁר 8.c (where the present text is not cited).

[16:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “my good [is] not beyond you.” For the use of the preposition עַל (’al) in the sense of “beyond,” see BDB 755 s.v. 2.

[16:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “O Lord, the portion of my possession and my cup”; or “the Lord [is] the portion of my possession and my cup.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel, and to a cup of wine, which may symbolize a reward (in Ps 11:6 it symbolizes the judgment one deserves) or divine blessing (see Ps 23:5). The metaphor highlights the fact that God is the psalmist’s source of security and prosperity.

[16:5]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “you take hold of my lot.” The form תּוֹמִיךְ (tomikh) should be emended to a participle, תוֹמֵךְ (tomekh). The psalmist pictures the Lord as casting his lot (a method used to allot landed property) for him, thus assuring that he will receive a fertile piece of land (see v. 6). As in the previous line, land represents security and economic stability, thus “you make my future secure.”

[16:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant [places]; yes, property [or “an inheritance”] is beautiful for me.” On the dative use of עַל, see BDB 758 s.v. II.8. Extending the metaphor used in v. 5, the psalmist compares the divine blessings he has received to a rich, beautiful tract of land that one might receive by allotment or inheritance.

[33:13]  ¹² tn The Hebrew perfect verbal forms in v. 13 state general facts.

[33:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the sons of men.”

[38:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “pass over my head.”

[41:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “together against me they whisper, all those who hate me.” The Hitpael of לָחַשׁ (lakhash) refers here to whispering to one another (see 2 Sam 12:19).

[48:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he is known for an elevated place.”

[57:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to God Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[57:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “avenges in favor of.”

[69:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”

[71:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my mouth is filled [with] your praise, all the day [with] your splendor.”

[73:17]  ²¹ tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).

[73:17]  ²² tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.

[74:5]  ²³ tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.

[77:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).

[77:4]  ²⁵ tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.

[81:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “lift up.”

[83:13]  ²⁷ tn Or “tumbleweed.” The Hebrew noun גַּלְגַּל (galgal) refers to a “wheel” or, metaphorically, to a whirling wind (see Ps 77:18). If taken in the latter sense here, one could understand the term as a metonymical reference to dust blown by a whirlwind (cf. NRSV “like whirling dust”). However, HALOT 190 s.v. II גַּלְגַּל understands the noun as a homonym referring to a “dead thistle” here and in Isa 17:13. The parallel line, which refers to קַשׁ (qash, “chaff”), favors this interpretation.

[83:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “before.”

[89:37]  ²⁹ tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”

[89:37]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and a witness in the sky, secure.” Scholars have offered a variety of opinions as to the identity of the “witness” referred to here, none of which is very convincing. It is preferable to join וְעֵד (vÿ’ed) to עוֹלָם (’olam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisse’, “throne”) and ’d (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”) – bet/kaf (כ/ב) confusion is widely attested – one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, shÿkhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.

[90:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 90. In this communal lament the worship leader affirms that the eternal God and creator of the world has always been Israel’s protector. But God also causes men, who are as transient as grass, to die, and in his fierce anger he decimates his covenant community, whose brief lives are filled with suffering and end in weakness. The community asks for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors.

[90:1]  ³² tn Or “place of safety.” See Ps 71:3.

[96:8]  ³³ tn Heb “the splendor of [i.e., “due”] his name.”

[101:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted; crooked” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse (see Ps 18:26). It appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6).

[101:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.

[103:1]  ³⁶ sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.

[103:1]  ³⁷ tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[104:18]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the high mountains [are] for the goats.”

[105:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).

[105:39]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “curtain.”

[119:96]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “to every perfection I have seen an end, your command is very wide.” God’s law is beyond full comprehension, which is why the psalmist continually studies it (vv. 95, 97).

[146:6]  ⁴² tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”