Mazmur 16:8

16:8 I constantly trust in the Lord; ¹ 

because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.

Mazmur 18:5

18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, ² 

the snares of death trapped me. ³ 

Mazmur 26:2

26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me!

Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives! ⁴ 

Mazmur 38:10

38:10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see. ⁵ 

Mazmur 73:12

73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, ⁶ 

those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. ⁷ 

Mazmur 74:5

74:5 They invade like lumberjacks

swinging their axes in a thick forest. ⁸ 

Mazmur 94:4-5

94:4 They spew out threats ⁹  and speak defiantly;

all the evildoers boast. ¹⁰ 

94:5 O Lord, they crush your people;

they oppress the nation that belongs to you. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 104:26

104:26 The ships travel there,

and over here swims the whale ¹²  you made to play in it.

Mazmur 109:27

109:27 Then they will realize ¹³  this is your work, ¹⁴ 

and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.

Mazmur 112:6

112:6 For he will never be upended;

others will always remember one who is just. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 119:27

119:27 Help me to understand what your precepts mean! ¹⁶ 

Then I can meditate ¹⁷  on your marvelous teachings. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 119:33

ה (He)

119:33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes, ¹⁹ 

so that I might observe it continually. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 119:82

119:82 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. ²¹ 

I say, ²²  “When will you comfort me?”

Mazmur 122:5

122:5 Indeed, ²³  the leaders sit ²⁴  there on thrones and make legal decisions,

on the thrones of the house of David. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 139:3

139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; ²⁶ 

you are aware of everything I do. ²⁷ 

[16:8]  ¹ tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “confronted me.”

[26:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “evaluate my kidneys and my heart.” The kidneys and heart were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[38:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).

[73:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”

[73:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”

[74:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.

[94:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “they gush forth [words].”

[94:4]  ¹⁰ tn The Hitpael of אָמַר (’amar) occurs only here (and perhaps in Isa 61:6).

[94:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “your inheritance.”

[104:26]  ¹² tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.

[109:27]  ¹³ tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

[109:27]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “that your hand [is] this.”

[112:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”

[119:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the way of your precepts make me understand.”

[119:27]  ¹⁷ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your amazing things,” which refers here to the teachings of the law (see v. 18).

[119:33]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the way of your statutes.”

[119:33]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and I will keep it to the end.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative. The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (’eqev) is understood to mean “end” here. Another option is to take עֵקֶב (’eqev) as meaning “reward” here (see Ps 19:11) and to translate, “so that I might observe it and be rewarded.”

[119:82]  ²¹ tn Heb “my eyes fail for your word.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See Ps 69:3.

[119:82]  ²² tn Heb “saying.”

[122:5]  ²³ tn Or “for.”

[122:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “sat.”

[122:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”

[139:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).

[139:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “all my ways.”