Mazmur 18:16

18:16 He reached down ¹  from above and took hold of me;

he pulled me from the surging water. ² 

Mazmur 78:16

78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,

and made the water flow like rivers.

Mazmur 86:15

86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.

You are patient ³  and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. ⁴ 

Mazmur 140:11

140:11 A slanderer ⁵  will not endure on ⁶  the earth;

calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down. ⁷ 

Mazmur 145:7

145:7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness, ⁸ 

and sing about your justice. ⁹ 

[18:16]  ¹ tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.

[18:16]  ² tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).

[86:15]  ³ tn Heb “slow to anger.”

[86:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”

[86:15]  sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.

[140:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man of a tongue.”

[140:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “be established in.”

[140:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “for blows.” The Hebrew noun מַדְחֵפֹה (madkhefoh, “blow”) occurs only here in the OT.

[145:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “the fame of the greatness of your goodness.”

[145:7]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 7 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they talk…and sing.”