Mazmur 23:6

23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness ¹  will pursue ²  me all my days, ³ 

and I will live in ⁴  the Lord’s house ⁵  for the rest of my life. ⁶ 

Mazmur 25:2

25:2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

Mazmur 25:10

25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable ⁷ 

to those who follow the demands of his covenant. ⁸ 

Mazmur 27:12

27:12 Do not turn me over to my enemies, ⁹ 

for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 28:9

28:9 Deliver your people!

Empower ¹¹  the nation that belongs to you! ¹² 

Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms ¹³  at all times! ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 32:8

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ¹⁵  about how you should live. ¹⁶ 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 37:22

37:22 Surely ¹⁸  those favored by the Lord ¹⁹  will possess the land,

but those rejected ²⁰  by him will be wiped out. ²¹ 

Mazmur 37:25

37:25 I was once young, now I am old.

I have never seen a godly man abandoned,

or his children ²²  forced to search for food. ²³ 

Mazmur 50:7

50:7 He says: ²⁴ 

“Listen my people! I am speaking!

Listen Israel! I am accusing you! ²⁵ 

I am God, your God!

Mazmur 86:2

86:2 Protect me, ²⁶  for I am loyal!

O my God, deliver your servant, who trusts in you!

Mazmur 91:14

91:14 The Lord says, ²⁷ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ²⁸  because he is loyal to me. ²⁹ 

Mazmur 97:7

97:7 All who worship idols are ashamed,

those who boast about worthless idols.

All the gods bow down before him. ³⁰ 

Mazmur 135:6

135:6 He does whatever he pleases

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all the ocean depths.

Mazmur 138:1

Psalm 138 ³¹ 

By David.

138:1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;

before the heavenly assembly ³²  I will sing praises to you.

Mazmur 138:6

138:6 Though the Lord is exalted, he takes note of the lowly,

and recognizes the proud from far away.

Mazmur 145:13

145:13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, ³³ 

and your dominion endures through all generations.

Mazmur 145:18

145:18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,

all who cry out to him sincerely. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 146:9

146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;

he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, ³⁵ 

but he opposes the wicked. ³⁶ 

[23:6]  ¹ tn The noun חֶסֶד (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”

[23:6]  ² tn The use of רָדַף (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with טוֹב וָחֶסֶד (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb רָדַף (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.

[23:6]  ³ tn Heb “all the days of my life.”

[23:6]  ⁴ tn The verb form וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the Lord.” The term שׁוּב (shuv) appears only here with the following phrase בְּבֵית (bÿvet). The form should be emended to וְשִׁבְתִּי (vÿshivtiy; an infinitive construct from יָשַׁב, yashav, “live”) with pronominal suffix) or to וְיָשַׁבְתִּי (vÿyashavtiy; a Qal perfect with vav [ו] consecutive, first common singular, from ישׁב [see BHS, note c]). In either case one could then translate, “and I will live [in the house of the Lord].” The phrase “in the house” frequently follows the verb יָשַׁב in the OT.

[23:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the house of the Lord.” The phrase may be purely metaphorical here, referring to the royal palace where the royal host of v. 5 holds his banquet and lives. If one takes the phrase more literally, it would refer to the earthly tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the later temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[23:6]  ⁶ tn The phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the Lord’s blessings and should not be taken literally.

[25:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.

[25:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

[27:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not give me over to the desire of my enemies.”

[27:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for they have risen up against me, lying witnesses and a testifier of violence.” The form יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) is traditionally understood as a verb meaning “snort, breathe out”: “for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty” (KJV; cf. BDB 422 s.v.). A better option is to take the form as a noun meaning “a witness” (or “testifier”). See Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3.

[28:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “bless.”

[28:9]  ¹² tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.

[28:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “shepherd them and lift them up.”

[28:9]  sn The shepherd metaphor is sometimes associated with royal responsibility. See 2 Sam 5:2; 7:7; Mic 5:2-4).

[28:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “forever.”

[32:8]  ¹⁵ tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[37:22]  ¹⁸ tn The particle כִּי is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.

[37:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “those blessed by him.” The pronoun “him” must refer to the Lord (see vv. 20, 23), so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “cursed.”

[37:22]  ²¹ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed” (see v. 9).

[37:25]  ²² tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:25]  ²³ tn Heb “or his offspring searching for food.” The expression “search for food” also appears in Lam 1:11, where Jerusalem’s refugees are forced to search for food and to trade their valuable possessions for something to eat.

[50:7]  ²⁴ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

[50:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[86:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my life.”

[91:14]  ²⁷ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ²⁸ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).

[97:7]  ³⁰ tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the Lord’s mighty theophany on those who witness it (see vv. 5, 8). Another option is to take the prefixed form in the first line as a jussive (“let all who worship idols be ashamed”) and the ambiguous form in the third line as an imperative (“All you gods, bow down before him!”; cf. NIV).

[138:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 138. The psalmist vows to thank the Lord for his deliverance and protection.

[138:1]  ³² tn The referent of the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is unclear. It refers either to the angelic assembly (see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5) or to the pagan gods (see Pss 82:1, 6; 86:8; 97:7), in which case the psalmist’s praise takes on a polemical tone.

[145:13]  ³³ tn Heb “a kingdom of all ages.”

[145:18]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in truth.”

[146:9]  ³⁵ 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 resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.

[146:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.