Mazmur 1:6

1:6 Certainly ¹  the Lord guards the way of the godly, ² 

but the way of the wicked ends in destruction. ³ 

Mazmur 14:5

14:5 They are absolutely terrified, ⁴ 

for God defends the godly. ⁵ 

Mazmur 25:15-16

25:15 I continually look to the Lord for help, ⁶ 

for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net. ⁷ 

25:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,

for I am alone ⁸  and oppressed!

Mazmur 37:17

37:17 for evil men will lose their power, ⁹ 

but the Lord sustains ¹⁰  the godly.

Mazmur 37:24

37:24 Even if ¹¹  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ¹² 

for the Lord holds ¹³  his hand.

Mazmur 71:11

71:11 They say, ¹⁴  “God has abandoned him.

Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him!”

Mazmur 86:3-4

86:3 Have mercy on me, ¹⁵  O Lord,

for I cry out to you all day long!

86:4 Make your servant ¹⁶  glad,

for to you, O Lord, I pray! ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 86:7

86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,

for you will answer me.

Mazmur 96:4

96:4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;

he is more awesome than all gods. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 100:5

100:5 For the Lord is good.

His loyal love endures, ¹⁹ 

and he is faithful through all generations. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 103:14

103:14 For he knows what we are made of; ²¹ 

he realizes ²²  we are made of clay. ²³ 

Mazmur 105:42

105:42 Yes, ²⁴  he remembered the sacred promise ²⁵ 

he made to Abraham his servant.

Mazmur 117:2

117:2 For his loyal love towers ²⁶  over us,

and the Lord’s faithfulness endures.

Praise the Lord!

Mazmur 119:43

119:43 Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony, ²⁷ 

for I await your justice.

Mazmur 119:93

119:93 I will never forget your precepts,

for by them you have revived me.

Mazmur 119:102

119:102 I do not turn aside from your regulations,

for you teach me.

Mazmur 119:153

ר (Resh)

119:153 See my pain and rescue me!

For I do not forget your law.

Mazmur 119:158

119:158 I take note of the treacherous and despise them,

because they do not keep your instructions. ²⁸ 

Mazmur 119:172

119:172 May my tongue sing about your instructions, ²⁹ 

for all your commands are just.

Mazmur 123:3

123:3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!

For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 135:14

135:14 For the Lord vindicates ³¹  his people,

and has compassion on his servants. ³² 

Mazmur 148:5

148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for he gave the command and they came into existence.

[1:6]  ¹ tn The translation understands כי as asseverative. Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 6 as a theological explanation for vv. 3-5, which contrasts the respective destinies of the godly and the wicked.

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “the Lord knows the way of the righteous.” To “know a way” means, in its most basic sense, “to recognize/acknowledge a pathway, route, or prescribed way of life” (see Josh 3:4; Job 21:14; Ps 67:2; Isa 42:16; Jer 5:4-5). Here it could refer to the Lord recognizing the behavior of the godly and, by metonymy, rewarding their godliness with security and prosperity (resulting in the translation, “the Lord rewards the behavior of the godly”). The present translation takes the verb in the sense of “mark out” (cf. Job 23:10), which metonymically could mean “watch over, protect, guard.” In this case the “way of the godly” is not their behavior, but their course of life or destiny; a translation reflecting this would be “the Lord protects the lives of the godly” or “the Lord watches over the destiny of the godly” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The Hebrew active participle יוֹדֵעַ (yodea’, “knows”) has here a characteristic durative force.

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “but the way of the wicked perishes.” The “way of the wicked” may refer to their course of life (Ps 146:9; Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1) or their sinful behavior (Prov 12:26; 15:9). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form probably describes here what typically happens, though one could take the form as indicating what will happen (“will perish”).

[14:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.

[14:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[25:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “my eyes continually [are] toward the Lord.”

[25:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “for he will bring out from a net my feet.” The hostility of the psalmist’s enemies is probably in view (see v. 19).

[25:16]  ⁸ tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.

[37:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”

[37:17]  ¹⁰ tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.

[37:24]  ¹¹ tn Other translation options for כִּי in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[37:24]  ¹² tn Heb “be hurled down.”

[37:24]  ¹³ tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.

[71:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

[86:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “show me favor.”

[86:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the soul of your servant.”

[86:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I lift up my soul.”

[96:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.

[100:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “is forever.”

[100:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and to a generation and a generation [is] his faithfulness.”

[103:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “our form.”

[103:14]  ²² tn Heb “remembers.”

[103:14]  ²³ tn Heb “we [are] clay.”

[105:42]  ²⁴ tn Or “for.”

[105:42]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his holy word.”

[117:2]  ²⁶ tn For this sense of the Hebrew verb גָּבַר (gavar), see Ps 103:11 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

[119:43]  ²⁷ tn Heb “do not snatch from my mouth a word of truth to excess.” The psalmist wants to be able to give a reliable testimony about the Lord’s loyal love (vv. 41-42), but if God does not intervene, the psalmist will be deprived of doing so, for the evidence of such love (i.e., deliverance) will be lacking.

[119:158]  ²⁸ tn Heb “your word.”

[119:172]  ²⁹ tn Heb “your word.”

[123:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”

[135:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the Lord “judges on behalf of” his people. The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic actions.

[135:14]  ³² sn Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.