Mazmur 12:6

12:6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable. ¹ 

They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,

where it is thoroughly refined. ² 

Mazmur 18:3

18:3 I called ³  to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, ⁴ 

and I was delivered from my enemies.

Mazmur 22:14

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ⁵ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ⁶  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

Mazmur 29:9

29:9 The Lord’s shout bends ⁷  the large trees ⁸ 

and strips ⁹  the leaves from the forests. ¹⁰ 

Everyone in his temple says, “Majestic!” ¹¹ 

Mazmur 30:6

30:6 In my self-confidence I said,

“I will never be upended.” ¹² 

Mazmur 34:8-9

34:8 Taste ¹³  and see that the Lord is good!

How blessed ¹⁴  is the one ¹⁵  who takes shelter in him! ¹⁶ 

34:9 Remain loyal to ¹⁷  the Lord, you chosen people of his, ¹⁸ 

for his loyal followers ¹⁹  lack nothing!

Mazmur 34:22

34:22 The Lord rescues his servants; ²⁰ 

all who take shelter in him escape punishment. ²¹ 

Mazmur 36:9

36:9 For you are the one who gives

and sustains life. ²² 

Mazmur 39:8

39:8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion!

Do not make me the object of fools’ insults!

Mazmur 46:10

46:10 He says, ²³  “Stop your striving and recognize ²⁴  that I am God!

I will be exalted ²⁵  over ²⁶  the nations! I will be exalted over ²⁷  the earth!”

Mazmur 47:1

Psalm 47 ²⁸ 

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

47:1 All you nations, clap your hands!

Shout out to God in celebration! ²⁹ 

Mazmur 50:10

50:10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,

as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 56:8

56:8 You keep track of my misery. ³¹ 

Put my tears in your leather container! ³² 

Are they not recorded in your scroll? ³³ 

Mazmur 58:11

58:11 Then ³⁴  observers ³⁵  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ³⁶ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ³⁷  in the earth!”

Mazmur 65:11

65:11 You crown the year with your good blessings, ³⁸ 

and you leave abundance in your wake. ³⁹ 

Mazmur 67:2

67:2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;

all nations will know how you deliver your people. ⁴⁰ 

Mazmur 69:34

69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,

along with the seas and everything that swims in them!

Mazmur 71:15-16

71:15 I will tell about your justice,

and all day long proclaim your salvation, ⁴¹ 

though I cannot fathom its full extent. ⁴² 

71:16 I will come and tell about ⁴³  the mighty acts of the sovereign Lord.

I will proclaim your justice – yours alone.

Mazmur 72:10

72:10 The kings of Tarshish ⁴⁴  and the coastlands will offer gifts;

the kings of Sheba ⁴⁵  and Seba ⁴⁶  will bring tribute.

Mazmur 86:11

86:11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live! ⁴⁷ 

Then I will obey your commands. ⁴⁸ 

Make me wholeheartedly committed to you! ⁴⁹ 

Mazmur 89:11

89:11 The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.

You made the world and all it contains. ⁵⁰ 

Mazmur 89:27

89:27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn son, ⁵¹ 

the most exalted of the earth’s kings.

Mazmur 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ⁵² 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

Mazmur 89:48

89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. ⁵³  (Selah)

Mazmur 89:50

89:50 Take note, O Lord, ⁵⁴  of the way your servants are taunted, ⁵⁵ 

and of how I must bear so many insults from people! ⁵⁶ 

Mazmur 90:8

90:8 You are aware of our sins; ⁵⁷ 

you even know about our hidden sins. ⁵⁸ 

Mazmur 93:4

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ⁵⁹ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ⁶⁰ 

Mazmur 94:10

94:10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?

He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!

Mazmur 95:4

95:4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, ⁶¹ 

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Mazmur 96:3

96:3 Tell the nations about his splendor!

Tell ⁶²  all the nations about his amazing deeds!

Mazmur 97:12

97:12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord!

Give thanks to his holy name. ⁶³ 

Mazmur 111:1

Psalm 111 ⁶⁴ 

111:1 Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.

Mazmur 112:1

Psalm 112 ⁶⁵ 

112:1 Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the one ⁶⁶  who obeys ⁶⁷  the Lord,

who takes great delight in keeping his commands. ⁶⁸ 

Mazmur 115:1

Psalm 115 ⁶⁹ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ⁷⁰ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ⁷¹ 

Mazmur 115:12

115:12 The Lord takes notice of us, ⁷²  he will bless ⁷³  –

he will bless the family ⁷⁴  of Israel,

he will bless the family of Aaron.

Mazmur 119:74

119:74 Your loyal followers will be glad when they see me, ⁷⁵ 

for I find hope in your word.

Mazmur 119:128

119:128 For this reason I carefully follow all your precepts. ⁷⁶ 

I hate all deceitful actions. ⁷⁷ 

Mazmur 139:14

139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. ⁷⁸ 

You knew me thoroughly; ⁷⁹ 

Mazmur 145:13

145:13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, ⁸⁰ 

and your dominion endures through all generations.

Mazmur 147:18

147:18 He then orders it all to melt; ⁸¹ 

he breathes on it, ⁸²  and the water flows.

[12:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the words of the Lord are pure words,” i.e., untainted by falsehood or deception (in contrast to the flattery of the evildoers, v. 2).

[12:6]  ² tn Heb “[like] silver purified in a furnace of [i.e., “on”] the ground, refined seven times.” The singular participle מְזֻקָּק (mÿzuqqaq, “refined”) modifies “silver.” The number seven is used rhetorically to express the thorough nature of the action. For other rhetorical/figurative uses of שִׁבְעָתָיִם (shiv’atayim, “seven times”), see Gen 4:15, 24; Ps 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[18:3]  ³ tn In this song of thanksgiving, where the psalmist recalls how the Lord delivered him, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect.

[18:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “worthy of praise, I cried out [to] the Lord.” Some take מְהֻלָּל (mÿhullal, “worthy of praise”) with what precedes and translate, “the praiseworthy one,” or “praiseworthy.” However, the various epithets in vv. 1-2 have the first person pronominal suffix, unlike מְהֻלָּל. If one follows the traditional verse division and takes מְהֻלָּל with what follows, it is best understood as substantival and as appositional to יְהוָה (yÿhvah): “[to the] praiseworthy one I cried out, [to the] Lord.”

[22:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ⁶ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[29:9]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form is descriptive in function; the psalmist depicts the action as underway.

[29:9]  ⁸ tc Heb “the deer.” Preserving this reading, some translate the preceding verb, “causes [the deer] to give premature birth” (cf. NEB, NASB). But the Polel of חוּל/חִיל (khul/khil) means “give birth,” not “cause to give birth,” and the statement “the Lord’s shout gives birth to deer” is absurd. In light of the parallelism (note “forests” in the next line) and v. 5, it is preferable to emend אַיָּלוֹת (’ayyalot, “deer”) to אֵילוֹת (’elot, “large trees”) understanding the latter as an alternate form of the usual plural form אַיָּלִים (’ayyalim).

[29:9]  ⁹ tn The verb is used in Joel 1:7 of locusts stripping the leaves from a tree. The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.

[29:9]  ¹⁰ tn The usual form of the plural of יַעַר (ya’ar, “forest”) is יְעָרִים (yÿ’arim). For this reason some propose an emendation to יְעָלוֹת (yÿ’alot, “female mountain goats”) which would fit nicely in the parallelism with “deer” (cf. NEB “brings kids early to birth”). In this case one would have to understand the verb חָשַׂף (khasaf) to mean “cause premature birth,” an otherwise unattested homonym of the more common חָשַׂף (“strip bare”).

[29:9]  sn The Lord’s thunderous shout is accompanied by high winds which damage the trees of the forest.

[29:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “In his temple, all of it says, ‘Glory.’”

[30:6]  ¹² sn In my self-confidence I said… Here the psalmist begins to fill in the background of the crisis referred to in the earlier verses. He had been arrogant and self-confident, so the Lord withdrew his protection and allowed trouble to invade his life (vv. 8-11).

[34:8]  ¹³ tn This verb is normally used of tasting or savoring food. The metaphor here appears to compare the Lord to a tasty meal.

[34:8]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[34:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.”

[34:8]  ¹⁶ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[34:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “fear.”

[34:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “O holy ones of his.”

[34:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[34:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “redeems the life of his servants.” The Hebrew participial form suggests such deliverance is characteristic.

[34:22]  ²¹ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:19).

[36:9]  ²² tn Heb “for with you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light.” Water (note “fountain”) and light are here metaphors for life.

[46:10]  ²³ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[46:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “do nothing/be quiet (see 1 Sam 15:16) and know.” This statement may be addressed to the hostile nations, indicating they should cease their efforts to destroy God’s people, or to Judah, indicating they should rest secure in God’s protection. Since the psalm is an expression of Judah’s trust and confidence, it is more likely that the words are directed to the nations, who are actively promoting chaos and are in need of a rebuke.

[46:10]  ²⁵ tn Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”) when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 18:46; 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 57:5, 11).

[46:10]  ²⁶ tn Or “among.”

[46:10]  ²⁷ tn Or “in.”

[47:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 47. In this hymn the covenant community praises the Lord as the exalted king of the earth who has given them victory over the nations and a land in which to live.

[47:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Shout to God with [the] sound of a ringing cry!”

[50:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term בְּהֵמוֹה (bÿhemot, “animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).

[56:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “my wandering you count, you.” The Hebrew term נֹד (nod, “wandering,” derived from the verbal root נוֹד, nod, “to wander”; cf. NASB) here refers to the psalmist’s “changeable circumstances of life” and may be translated “misery.” The verb סָפַר (safar, “count”) probably carries the nuance “assess” here. Cf. NIV “my lament”; NRSV “my tossings.”

[56:8]  ³² tn Traditionally “your bottle.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20). If such a container is metaphorically in view here, then the psalmist seems to be asking God to store up his tears as a reminder of his suffering.

[56:8]  ³³ tn The word “recorded” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The rhetorical question assumes a positive response (see the first line of the verse).

[58:11]  ³⁴ tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

[58:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ³⁶ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ³⁷ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.

[65:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “your good,” which refers here to agricultural blessings.

[65:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and your paths drip with abundance.”

[67:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with -לְ (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.

[71:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “my mouth declares your vindication, all the day your deliverance.”

[71:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “though I do not know [the] numbers,” that is, the tally of God’s just and saving acts. HALOT 768 s.v. סְפֹרוֹת understands the plural noun to mean “the art of writing.”

[71:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “I will come with.”

[72:10]  ⁴⁴ sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.

[72:10]  ⁴⁵ sn Sheba was located in Arabia.

[72:10]  ⁴⁶ sn Seba was located in Africa.

[86:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles he expects the psalmist to follow. See Pss 25:4; 27:11.

[86:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The Lord’s commandments are referred to as “truth” here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. See Ps 25:5.

[86:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).

[89:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the world and its fullness, you established them.”

[89:27]  ⁵¹ sn The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.

[89:46]  ⁵² tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[89:48]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[89:50]  ⁵⁴ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:50]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “remember, O Lord, the taunt against your servants.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular here, “your servant” (that is, the psalmist).

[89:50]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “my lifting up in my arms [or “against my chest”] all of the many, peoples.” The term רַבִּים (rabbim, “many”) makes no apparent sense here. For this reason some emend the text to רִבֵי (rivey, “attacks by”), a defectively written plural construct form of רִיב (riv, “dispute; quarrel”).

[90:8]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “you set our sins in front of you.”

[90:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “what we have hidden to the light of your face.” God’s face is compared to a light or lamp that exposes the darkness around it.

[93:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

[93:4]  sn The surging waters here symbolizes the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy the order he has established in the world (see Pss 18:17; 29:3; 32:6; 77:20; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). But the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over these raging waters.

[93:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

[95:4]  ⁶¹ tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.

[96:3]  ⁶² tn The verb “tell” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[97:12]  ⁶³ tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זָכַר (zakhar, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 30:4. The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.

[111:1]  ⁶⁴ sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ⁶⁵ sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.

[112:1]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “fears.”

[112:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.

[115:1]  ⁶⁹ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ⁷¹ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[115:12]  ⁷² tn Or “remembers us.”

[115:12]  ⁷³ tn Another option is to translate the prefixed form of the verb “bless” in vv. 12-13 as a jussive, “may he bless” (see v. 14).

[115:12]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[119:74]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “those who fear you will see me and rejoice.”

[119:128]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “for this reason all the precepts of everything I regard as right.” The phrase “precepts of everything” is odd. It is preferable to take the kaf (כ) on כֹּל (kol, “everything) with the preceding form as a pronominal suffix, “your precepts,” and the lamed (ל) with the following verb as an emphatic particle. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 138.

[119:128]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “every false path.”

[139:14]  ⁷⁸ tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).

[139:14]  ⁷⁹ tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.

[145:13]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “a kingdom of all ages.”

[147:18]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “he sends his word and melts them.”

[147:18]  ⁸² tn Heb “he blows his breath.”