Mazmur 18:28

18:28 Indeed, ¹  you are my lamp, Lord. ² 

My God ³  illuminates the darkness around me. ⁴ 

Mazmur 21:2

21:2 You grant ⁵  him his heart’s desire;

you do not refuse his request. ⁶  (Selah)

Mazmur 30:2

30:2 O Lord my God,

I cried out to you and you healed me. ⁷ 

Mazmur 52:2

52:2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; ⁸ 

it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. ⁹ 

Mazmur 63:3

63:3 Because ¹⁰  experiencing ¹¹  your loyal love is better than life itself,

my lips will praise you.

Mazmur 71:7

71:7 Many are appalled when they see me, ¹² 

but you are my secure shelter.

Mazmur 85:2

85:2 You pardoned ¹³  the wrongdoing of your people;

you forgave ¹⁴  all their sin. (Selah)

Mazmur 86:7

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

for you will answer me.

Mazmur 89:26

89:26 He will call out to me,

‘You are my father, ¹⁵  my God, and the protector who delivers me.’ ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 90:1

Book 4
(Psalms 90-106)

Psalm 90 ¹⁷ 

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90:1 O Lord, you have been our protector ¹⁸  through all generations!

Mazmur 109:27

109:27 Then they will realize ¹⁹  this is your work, ²⁰ 

and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.

Mazmur 119:21

119:21 You reprimand arrogant people.

Those who stray from your commands are doomed. ²¹ 

Mazmur 119:26

119:26 I told you about my ways ²²  and you answered me.

Teach me your statutes!

Mazmur 119:82

119:82 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. ²³ 

I say, ²⁴  “When will you comfort me?”

Mazmur 119:84

119:84 How long must your servant endure this? ²⁵ 

When will you judge those who pursue me?

Mazmur 119:93

119:93 I will never forget your precepts,

for by them you have revived me.

Mazmur 140:7

140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, ²⁶ 

you shield ²⁷  my head in the day of battle.

[18:28]  ¹ tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki)is asseverative here.

[18:28]  ² tn Ps 18:28 reads literally, “you light my lamp, Lord.” 2 Sam 22:29 has, “you are my lamp, Lord.” The Ps 18 reading may preserve two variants, נֵרִי (neriy, “my lamp”) and אוֹרִי (’oriy, “my light”), cf. Ps 27:1. The verb תָּאִיר (ta’ir, “you light”) in Ps 18:28 would, in this case, be a corruption of the latter. See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 150, n. 64. The metaphor, which likens the Lord to a lamp or light, pictures him as the psalmist’s source of life. For other examples of “lamp” used in this way, see Job 18:6; 21:17; Prov 13:9; 20:20; 24:20. For other examples of “light” as a symbol for life, see Job 3:20; 33:30; Ps 56:13.

[18:28]  ³ tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “Lord.”

[18:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “my darkness.”

[21:2]  ⁵ tn The translation assumes the perfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing, stating factually what God typically does for the king. Another option is to take them as present perfects, “you have granted…you have not refused.” See v. 4, which mentions a specific request for a long reign.

[21:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the request of his lips you do not refuse.”

[30:2]  ⁷ sn You healed me. Apparently the psalmist was plagued by a serious illness that threatened his life. See Ps 41.

[52:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”

[52:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (’asah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.

[63:3]  ¹⁰ tn This line is understood as giving the basis for the praise promised in the following line. Another option is to take the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) as asseverative/emphasizing, “Indeed, your loyal love is better” (cf. NEB, which leaves the particle untranslated).

[63:3]  ¹¹ tn The word “experiencing” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist does not speak here of divine loyal love in some abstract sense, but of loyal love revealed and experienced.

[71:7]  ¹² tn Heb “like a sign [i.e., portent or bad omen] I am to many.”

[85:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “lifted up.”

[85:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “covered over.”

[89:26]  ¹⁵ sn You are my father. The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[89:26]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the rocky summit of my deliverance.”

[90:1]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “place of safety.” See Ps 71:3.

[109:27]  ¹⁹ tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

[109:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “that your hand [is] this.”

[119:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “accursed.” The traditional punctuation of the Hebrew text takes “accursed” with the previous line (“arrogant, accursed ones”), but it is preferable to take it with the second line as the predicate of the statement.

[119:26]  ²² tn Heb “my ways I proclaimed.”

[119:82]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

[119:84]  ²⁵ tn Heb “How long are the days of your servant?”

[140:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”

[140:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “cover.”