Mazmur 25:4

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ¹ 

Mazmur 25:14

25:14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, ² 

and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. ³ 

Mazmur 48:3

48:3 God is in its fortresses;

he reveals himself as its defender. ⁴ 

Mazmur 55:13

55:13 But it is you, ⁵  a man like me, ⁶ 

my close friend in whom I confided. ⁷ 

Mazmur 73:16

73:16 When I tried to make sense of this,

it was troubling to me. ⁸ 

Mazmur 74:5

74:5 They invade like lumberjacks

swinging their axes in a thick forest. ⁹ 

Mazmur 78:3

78:3 What we have heard and learned ¹⁰  –

that which our ancestors ¹¹  have told us –

Mazmur 90:11

90:11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? ¹² 

Your raging fury causes people to fear you. ¹³ 

Mazmur 103:7

103:7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts ¹⁴  to Moses,

his deeds to the Israelites.

Mazmur 104:19

104:19 He made the moon to mark the months, ¹⁵ 

and the sun sets according to a regular schedule. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 106:8

106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, ¹⁷ 

that he might reveal his power.

Mazmur 119:79

119:79 May your loyal followers ¹⁸  turn to me,

those who know your rules.

Mazmur 119:125

119:125 I am your servant. Give me insight,

so that I can understand ¹⁹  your rules.

Mazmur 119:152

119:152 I learned long ago that

you ordained your rules to last. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 139:1

Psalm 139 ²¹ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ²²  and know.

[25:4]  ¹ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[25:14]  ² tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.”

[25:14]  ³ tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”

[48:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “he is known for an elevated place.”

[55:13]  ⁵ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

[55:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

[55:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

[73:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”

[74:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “it is known like one bringing upwards, in a thicket of wood, axes.” The Babylonian invaders destroyed the woodwork in the temple.

[78:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “known.”

[78:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).

[90:11]  ¹² tn Heb “Who knows the strength of your anger?”

[90:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “and like your fear [is] your raging fury.” Perhaps one should emend וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ (ukhyir’otekh, “and like your fear”) to יִרְאָתְךְ (yir’otkh, “your fear”), understanding a virtual dittography (אַפֶּךָ וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ, ’apekha ukhyir’otekh) to have occurred. In this case the psalmist asserts “your fear [is] your raging fury,” that is, your raging fury is what causes others to fear you. The suffix on “fear” is understood as objective.

[103:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “made known his ways.” God’s “ways” in this context are his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 18:30; 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 138:5; 145:17).

[104:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he made [the] moon for appointed times.” The phrase “appointed times” probably refers to the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar.

[104:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb more metaphorically, “knows its setting.”

[106:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[119:79]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “those who fear you.”

[119:125]  ¹⁹ tn or “know.” The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:152]  ²⁰ tn Heb “long ago I knew concerning your rules, that forever you established them.” See v. 89 for the same idea. The translation assumes that the preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “your rules” introduces the object of the verb יָדַע (yada’), as in 1 Sam 23:23. Another option is that the preposition indicates source, in which case one might translate, “Long ago I realized from your rules that forever you established them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[139:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 139. The psalmist acknowledges that God, who created him, is aware of his every action and thought. He invites God to examine his motives, for he is confident they are pure.

[139:1]  ²² tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.