Mazmur 25:4

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

Teach me your paths! ¹ 

Mazmur 37:3

37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! ² 

Mazmur 71:11

71:11 They say, ³  “God has abandoned him.

Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him!”

Mazmur 72:2

72:2 Then he will judge ⁴  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ⁵  equitably.

Mazmur 78:2

78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;

I will make insightful observations about the past. ⁶ 

Mazmur 78:35

78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, ⁷ 

and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. ⁸ 

Mazmur 104:32

104:32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;

he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.

Mazmur 139:19

139:19 If only ⁹  you would kill the wicked, O God!

Get away from me, you violent men! ¹⁰ 

[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.

[37:3]  ² tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (ra’ah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.

[71:11]  ³ tn Heb “saying.”

[72:2]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ⁵ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[78:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).

[78:35]  ⁷ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[78:35]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”

[139:19]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).

[139:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”