Mazmur 18:47

18:47 The one true God ¹  completely vindicates me; ² 

he makes nations submit to me. ³ 

Mazmur 38:5

38:5 My wounds ⁴  are infected and starting to smell, ⁵ 

because of my foolish sins. ⁶ 

Mazmur 38:11

38:11 Because of my condition, ⁷  even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance; ⁸ 

my neighbors stand far away. ⁹ 

Mazmur 51:6

51:6 Look, ¹⁰  you desire ¹¹  integrity in the inner man; ¹² 

you want me to possess wisdom. ¹³ 

Mazmur 55:20

55:20 He ¹⁴  attacks ¹⁵  his friends; ¹⁶ 

he breaks his solemn promises to them. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 83:16

83:16 Cover ¹⁸  their faces with shame,

so they might seek ¹⁹  you, ²⁰  O Lord.

Mazmur 88:14

88:14 O Lord, why do you reject me,

and pay no attention to me? ²¹ 

Mazmur 89:25

89:25 I will place his hand over the sea,

his right hand over the rivers. ²² 

Mazmur 102:23

102:23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; ²³ 

he has cut short my days.

[18:47]  ¹ tn Heb “the God.” See v. 32.

[18:47]  ² tn Heb “is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication.

[18:47]  sn Completely vindicates me. In the ancient Near East military victory was sometimes viewed as a sign that one’s God had judged in favor of the victor, avenging and/or vindicating him. See, for example, Judg 11:27, 32-33, 36.

[18:47]  ³ tn Heb “he subdues nations beneath me.” On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue,” a homonym of דָּבַר, davar, “speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 47:3 and 2 Chr 22:10. 2 Sam 22:48 reads “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”

[38:5]  ⁴ sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.

[38:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).

[38:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”

[38:11]  ⁷ tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”

[38:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “stand [aloof].”

[38:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”

[51:6]  ¹⁰ sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.

[51:6]  ¹¹ tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.

[51:6]  ¹² tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.

[51:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).

[51:6]  sn You want me to possess wisdom. Here “wisdom” does not mean “intelligence” or “learning,” but refers to moral insight and skill.

[55:20]  ¹⁴ sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.

[55:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”

[55:20]  ¹⁶ tc The form should probably be emended to an active participle (שֹׁלְמָיו, sholÿmayv) from the verbal root שָׁלַם (shalam, “be in a covenant of peace with”). Perhaps the translation “his friends” suggests too intimate a relationship. Another option is to translate, “he attacks those who made agreements with him.”

[55:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”

[83:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “fill.”

[83:16]  ¹⁹ tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose or result (“then they will seek”).

[83:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your name,” which stands here for God’s person.

[88:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “[why] do you hide your face from me?”

[89:25]  ²² tn Some identify “the sea” as the Mediterranean and “the rivers” as the Euphrates and its tributaries. However, it is more likely that “the sea” and “the rivers” are symbols for hostile powers that oppose God and the king (see v. 9, as well as Ps 93:3-4).

[102:23]  ²³ tn Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b-24).