Mazmur 25:17

25:17 Deliver me from my distress; ¹ 

rescue me from my suffering! ² 

Mazmur 37:38

37:38 Sinful rebels are totally destroyed; ³ 

evil men have no future. ⁴ 

Mazmur 73:21

73:21 Yes, ⁵  my spirit was bitter, ⁶ 

and my insides felt sharp pain. ⁷ 

Mazmur 78:9

78:9 The Ephraimites ⁸  were armed with bows, ⁹ 

but they retreated in the day of battle. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 94:13

94:13 in order to protect him from times of trouble, ¹¹ 

until the wicked are destroyed. ¹² 

Mazmur 109:23

109:23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; ¹³ 

I am shaken off like a locust.

Mazmur 111:8

111:8 They are forever firm,

and should be faithfully and properly carried out. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 119:20

119:20 I desperately long to know ¹⁵ 

your regulations at all times.

Mazmur 119:143

119:143 Distress and hardship confront ¹⁶  me,

yet I find delight in your commands.

Mazmur 121:8

121:8 The Lord will protect you in all you do, ¹⁷ 

now and forevermore.

Mazmur 124:3

124:3 they would have swallowed us alive,

when their anger raged against us.

Mazmur 131:3

131:3 O Israel, hope in the Lord

now and forevermore!

[25:17]  ¹ tc Heb “the distresses of my heart, they make wide.” The text makes little if any sense as it stands, unless this is an otherwise unattested intransitive use of the Hiphil of רָחַב (rakhav, “be wide”). It is preferable to emend the form הִרְחִיבוּ (hirkhivu; Hiphil perfect third plural “they make wide”) to הַרְחֵיב (harkhev; Hiphil imperative masculine singular “make wide”). (The final vav [ו] can be joined to the following word and taken as a conjunction.) In this case one can translate, “[in/from] the distresses of my heart, make wide [a place for me],” that is, “deliver me from the distress I am experiencing.” For the expression “make wide [a place for me],” see Ps 4:1.

[25:17]  ² tn Heb “from my distresses lead me out.”

[37:38]  ³ tn Or “destroyed together.” In this case the psalmist pictures judgment sweeping them away as a group.

[37:38]  ⁴ tn Heb “the end of evil men is cut off.” As in v. 37, some interpret אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see Ps 109:13). The perfect verbal forms in v. 38 probably express general truths. Another option is that they are used emphatically to state with certitude that the demise of the wicked is as good as done.

[73:21]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “when.”

[73:21]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.

[73:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.

[78:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.

[78:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (noshÿqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (romey, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (noshÿqey qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.

[78:9]  ¹⁰ sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).

[94:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to give him rest from the days of trouble.”

[94:13]  ¹² tn Heb “until a pit is dug for the wicked.”

[109:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.

[111:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “done in faithfulness and uprightness.” The passive participle probably has the force of a gerund. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 89.

[119:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my soul languishes for longing for.”

[119:143]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “find.”

[121:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.”