Mazmur 20:7

20:7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, ¹ 

but we ²  depend on ³  the Lord our God.

Mazmur 27:3

27:3 Even when an army is deployed against me,

I do not fear. ⁴ 

Even when war is imminent, ⁵ 

I remain confident. ⁶ 

Mazmur 31:4

31:4 You will free me ⁷  from the net they hid for me,

for you are my place of refuge.

Mazmur 32:11

32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!

Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! ⁸ 

Mazmur 36:7

36:7 How precious ⁹  is your loyal love, O God!

The human race finds shelter under your wings. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 39:2

39:2 I was stone silent; ¹¹ 

I held back the urge to speak. ¹² 

My frustration grew; ¹³ 

Mazmur 41:12

41:12 As for me, you uphold ¹⁴  me because of my integrity; ¹⁵ 

you allow ¹⁶  me permanent access to your presence. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 42:10

42:10 My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone, ¹⁸ 

as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 44:22

44:22 Yet because of you ²⁰  we are killed all day long;

we are treated like ²¹  sheep at the slaughtering block. ²² 

Mazmur 45:5

45:5 Your arrows are sharp

and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.

Nations fall at your feet. ²³ 

Mazmur 46:2

46:2 For this reason we do not fear ²⁴  when the earth shakes, ²⁵ 

and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, ²⁶ 

Mazmur 55:18

55:18 He will rescue ²⁷  me and protect me from those who attack me, ²⁸ 

even though ²⁹  they greatly outnumber me. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 58:8

58:8 Let them be ³¹  like a snail that melts away as it moves along! ³² 

Let them be like ³³  stillborn babies ³⁴  that never see the sun!

Mazmur 62:7

62:7 God delivers me and exalts me;

God is my strong protector and my shelter. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 63:2

63:2 Yes, ³⁶  in the sanctuary I have seen you, ³⁷ 

and witnessed ³⁸  your power and splendor.

Mazmur 63:7

63:7 For you are my deliverer; ³⁹ 

under your wings ⁴⁰  I rejoice.

Mazmur 64:5

64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. ⁴¹ 

They plan how to hide ⁴²  snares,

and boast, ⁴³  “Who will see them?” ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 64:10

64:10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord

and take shelter in him.

All the morally upright ⁴⁵  will boast. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 68:5

68:5 He is a father to the fatherless

and an advocate for widows. ⁴⁷ 

God rules from his holy palace. ⁴⁸ 

Mazmur 68:26

68:26 In your large assemblies praise God,

the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel! ⁴⁹ 

Mazmur 69:29

69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!

O God, deliver and protect me! ⁵⁰ 

Mazmur 69:33

69:33 For the Lord listens to the needy;

he does not despise his captive people. ⁵¹ 

Mazmur 69:36

69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who are loyal to him ⁵²  will live in it. ⁵³ 

Mazmur 73:25

73:25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?

I desire no one but you on earth. ⁵⁴ 

Mazmur 74:3

74:3 Hurry and look ⁵⁵  at the permanent ruins,

and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! ⁵⁶ 

Mazmur 76:5

76:5 The bravehearted ⁵⁷  were plundered; ⁵⁸ 

they “fell asleep.” ⁵⁹ 

All the warriors were helpless. ⁶⁰ 

Mazmur 77:13

77:13 ⁶¹ O God, your deeds are extraordinary! ⁶² 

What god can compare to our great God? ⁶³ 

Mazmur 78:15

78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,

and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. ⁶⁴ 

Mazmur 81:12

81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ⁶⁵ 

they did what seemed right to them. ⁶⁶ 

Mazmur 81:16

81:16 “I would feed Israel the best wheat, ⁶⁷ 

and would satisfy your appetite ⁶⁸  with honey from the rocky cliffs.” ⁶⁹ 

Mazmur 84:4

84:4 How blessed ⁷⁰  are those who live in your temple

and praise you continually! (Selah)

Mazmur 88:4

88:4 They treat me like ⁷¹  those who descend into the grave. ⁷² 

I am like a helpless man, ⁷³ 

Mazmur 88:15

88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. ⁷⁴ 

I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. ⁷⁵ 

Mazmur 89:16

89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long,

and are vindicated ⁷⁶  by your justice.

Mazmur 94:16

94:16 Who will rise up to defend me ⁷⁷  against the wicked?

Who will stand up for me against the evildoers? ⁷⁸ 

Mazmur 94:23

94:23 He will pay them back for their sin. ⁷⁹ 

He will destroy them because of ⁸⁰  their evil;

the Lord our God will destroy them.

Mazmur 104:3

104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. ⁸¹ 

He makes the clouds his chariot,

and travels along on the wings of the wind. ⁸² 

Mazmur 107:41

107:41 Yet he protected ⁸³  the needy from oppression,

and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

Mazmur 115:7

115:7 hands, but cannot touch,

feet, but cannot walk.

They cannot even clear their throats. ⁸⁴ 

Mazmur 118:15

118:15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. ⁸⁵ 

The Lord’s right hand conquers, ⁸⁶ 

Mazmur 119:116

119:116 Sustain me as you promised, ⁸⁷  so that I will live. ⁸⁸ 

Do not disappoint me! ⁸⁹ 

Mazmur 132:7

132:7 Let us go to his dwelling place!

Let us worship ⁹⁰  before his footstool!

Mazmur 134:1

Psalm 134 ⁹¹ 

A song of ascents. ⁹² 

134:1 Attention! ⁹³  Praise the Lord,

all you servants of the Lord,

who serve ⁹⁴  in the Lord’s temple during the night.

Mazmur 136:16

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 139:8

139:8 If I were to ascend ⁹⁵  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ⁹⁶ 

Mazmur 142:5

142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ⁹⁷  in the land of the living.”

Mazmur 143:11

143:11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, ⁹⁸  revive me! ⁹⁹ 

Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble! ¹⁰⁰ 

[20:7]  ¹ tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; perhaps the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.

[20:7]  ² tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.

[20:7]  ³ tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the Lord’s name in prayer, the people demonstrate their trust in him.

[27:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “my heart does not fear.”

[27:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “if war rises up against me.”

[27:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “in this [i.e., “during this situation”] I am trusting.”

[31:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “bring me out.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form expresses the psalmist’s confidence about the future. Another option is to take the form as expressing a prayer, “free me.”

[32:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “all [you] pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[36:7]  ⁹ tn Or “valuable.”

[36:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the sons of man in the shadow of your wings find shelter.” The preservation of physical life is in view, as the next verse makes clear.

[39:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”

[39:2]  ¹² tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.

[39:2]  sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.

[39:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.

[41:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “have upheld.” The perfect verbal form can be taken as generalizing/descriptive (present) or as a present perfect.

[41:12]  ¹⁵ sn Because of my integrity. See Pss 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11.

[41:12]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect. It is either generalizing/descriptive (present) or has a present perfect nuance (“you have allowed”).

[41:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and you cause me to stand before you permanently.”

[42:10]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “with a shattering in my bones my enemies taunt me.” A few medieval Hebrew mss and Symmachus’ Greek version read “like” instead of “with.”

[42:10]  ¹⁹ sn “Where is your God?” The enemies ask this same question in v. 3.

[44:22]  ²⁰ tn The statement “because of you” (1) may simply indicate that God is the cause of the Israelites’ defeat (see vv. 9-14, where the nation’s situation is attributed directly to God’s activity, and cf. NEB, NRSV), or (2) it may suggest they suffer because of their allegiance to God (see Ps 69:7 and Jer 15:15). In this case one should translate, “for your sake” (cf. NASB, NIV). The citation of this verse in Rom 8:36 follows the LXX (Ps 43:23 LXX), where the Greek term ἕνεκεν (Jeneken; LXX ἕνεκα) may likewise mean “because of” or “for the sake of” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἕνεκα 1).

[44:22]  ²¹ tn Or “regarded as.”

[44:22]  ²² tn Heb “like sheep of slaughtering,” that is, sheep destined for slaughter.

[45:5]  ²³ tn Heb “your arrows are sharp – peoples beneath you fall – in the heart of the enemies of the king.” The choppy style reflects the poet’s excitement.

[46:2]  ²⁴ tn The imperfect is taken in a generalizing sense (cf. NEB) because the situation described in vv. 2-3 is understood as symbolizing typical world conditions. In this case the imperfect draws attention to the typical nature of the response. The covenant community characteristically responds with confidence, not fear. Another option is to take the situation described as purely hypothetical. In this case one might translate, “We will not fear, even though the earth should shake” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[46:2]  ²⁵ tn The Hiphil infinitival form is normally taken to mean “when [the earth] is altered,” being derived from מוּר (mur, “to change”). In this case the Hiphil would be intransitive, as in Ps 15:4. HALOT 560 s.v. II מור emends the form to a Niphal and derives it from a homonymic root מוּר attested in Arabic with the meaning “shake.”

[46:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “heart of the seas.” The plural may be used for emphasis, pointing to the deepest sea. Note that the next verse uses a singular pronoun (“its waters,” “its swelling”) in referring back to the plural noun.

[55:18]  ²⁷ tn The perfect verbal form is here used rhetorically to indicate that the action is certain to take place (the so-called perfect of certitude).

[55:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he will redeem in peace my life from [those who] draw near to me.”

[55:18]  ²⁹ tn Or “for.”

[55:18]  ³⁰ tn Heb “among many they are against me.” For other examples of the preposition עִמָּד (’immad) used in the sense of “at, against,” see HALOT 842 s.v.; BDB 767 s.v.; IBHS 219 §11.2.14b.

[58:8]  ³¹ tn There is no “to be” verb in the Hebrew text at this point, but a jussive tone can be assumed based on vv. 6-7.

[58:8]  ³² tn Heb “like a melting snail [that] moves along.” A. Cohen (Psalms [SoBB], 184) explains that the text here alludes “to the popular belief that the slimy trail which the snail leaves in its track is the dissolution of its substance.”

[58:8]  ³³ tn The words “let them be like” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The jussive mood is implied from the preceding context, and “like” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[58:8]  ³⁴ tn This rare word also appears in Job 3:16 and Eccles 6:3.

[62:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “upon God [is] my deliverance and my glory, the high rocky summit of my strength, my shelter [is] in God.”

[63:2]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

[63:2]  ³⁷ tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

[63:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[63:7]  ³⁹ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[63:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in the shadow of your wings.”

[64:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”

[64:5]  ⁴² tn Heb “they report about hiding.”

[64:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “they say.”

[64:5]  ⁴⁴ tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).

[64:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “upright in heart.”

[64:10]  ⁴⁶ tn That is, about the Lord’s accomplishments on their behalf.

[68:5]  ⁴⁷ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.

[68:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.

[68:26]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “from the fountain of Israel,” which makes little, if any, sense here. The translation assumes an emendation to בְּמִקְרָאֵי (bÿmiqra’ey, “in the assemblies of [Israel]”).

[69:29]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”

[69:33]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “his prisoners he does not despise.”

[69:36]  ⁵² tn Heb “the lovers of his name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to God (cf. v. 35). See Pss 5:11; 119:132; Isa 56:6.

[69:36]  ⁵³ sn Verses 35-36 appear to be an addition to the psalm from the time of the exile. The earlier lament reflects an individual’s situation, while these verses seem to reflect a communal application of it.

[73:25]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.

[74:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”

[74:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”

[76:5]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “strong of heart.” In Isa 46:12, the only other text where this phrase appears, it refers to those who are stubborn, but here it seems to describe brave warriors (see the next line).

[76:5]  ⁵⁸ tn The verb is a rare Aramaized form of the Hitpolel (see GKC 149 §54.a, n. 2); the root is שָׁלַל (shalal, “to plunder”).

[76:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “they slept [in] their sleep.” “Sleep” here refers to the “sleep” of death. A number of modern translations take the phrase to refer to something less than death, however: NASB “cast into a deep sleep”; NEB “fall senseless”; NIV “lie still”; NRSV “lay stunned.”

[76:5]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and all the men of strength did not find their hands.”

[77:13]  ⁶¹ sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist’s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God’s work in Israel’s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God’s help (see v. 1).

[77:13]  ⁶² tn Heb “O God, in holiness [is] your way.” God’s “way” here refers to his actions. “Holiness” is used here in the sense of “set apart, unique,” rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God’s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.

[77:13]  ⁶³ tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”

[78:15]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”

[81:12]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”

[81:12]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).

[81:16]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he fed him from the best of the wheat.” The Hebrew text has a third person form of the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive attached. However, it is preferable, in light of the use of the first person in v. 14 and in the next line, to emend the verb to a first person form and understand the vav as conjunctive, continuing the apodosis of the conditional sentence of vv. 13-14. The third masculine singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in v. 6.

[81:16]  sn I would feed. After the parenthetical “curse” in v. 15, the Lord’s speech continues here.

[81:16]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “you.” The second person singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in vv. 7-10.

[81:16]  ⁶⁹ sn The language in this verse, particularly the references to wheat and honey, is reminiscent of Deut 32:13-14.

[84:4]  ⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[88:4]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “I am considered with.”

[88:4]  ⁷² tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[88:4]  ⁷³ tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”

[88:15]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and am dying from youth.”

[88:15]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “I carry your horrors [?].” The meaning of the Hebrew form אָפוּנָה (’afunah), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. It may be an adverb meaning “very much” (BDB 67 s.v.), though some prefer to emend the text to אָפוּגָה (’afugah, “I am numb”) from the verb פוּג (pug; see Pss 38:8; 77:2).

[89:16]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “are lifted up.”

[94:16]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “for me.”

[94:16]  ⁷⁸ sn Who will stand up for me…? The questions anticipate the answer, “No one except God” (see v. 17).

[94:23]  ⁷⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive is used in a rhetorical sense, describing an anticipated development as if it were already reality.

[94:23]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “in.”

[104:3]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.

[104:3]  ⁸² sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[107:41]  ⁸³ tn Heb “set on high.”

[115:7]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).

[118:15]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “the sound of a ringing shout and deliverance [is] in the tents of the godly.”

[118:15]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “does valiantly.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 108:13).

[119:116]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “according to your word.”

[119:116]  ⁸⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:116]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “do not make me ashamed of my hope.” After the Hebrew verb בּוֹשׁ (bosh, “to be ashamed”) the preposition מִן (min, “from”) often introduces the reason for shame.

[132:7]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “bow down.”

[134:1]  ⁹¹ sn Psalm 134. The psalmist calls on the temple servants to praise God (vv. 1-2). They in turn pronounce a blessing on the psalmist (v. 3).

[134:1]  ⁹² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[134:1]  ⁹³ tn Heb “Look!”

[134:1]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “stand.”

[139:8]  ⁹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).

[139:8]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “look, you.”

[142:5]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

[143:11]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[143:11]  ⁹⁹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:11]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”