Mazmur 28:6

28:6 The Lord deserves praise, ¹ 

for he has heard my plea for mercy! ² 

Mazmur 33:4

33:4 For ³  the Lord’s decrees ⁴  are just, ⁵ 

and everything he does is fair. ⁶ 

Mazmur 33:14

33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully

at all the earth’s inhabitants.

Mazmur 33:19

33:19 by saving their lives from death ⁷ 

and sustaining them during times of famine. ⁸ 

Mazmur 34:20

34:20 He protects ⁹  all his bones; ¹⁰ 

not one of them is broken. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 37:13

37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust ¹²  at them,

for he knows that their day is coming. ¹³ 

Mazmur 78:72

78:72 David ¹⁴  cared for them with pure motives; ¹⁵ 

he led them with skill. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 116:1

Psalm 116 ¹⁷ 

116:1 I love the Lord

because he heard my plea for mercy, ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 132:13

132:13 Certainly ¹⁹  the Lord has chosen Zion;

he decided to make it his home. ²⁰ 

[28:6]  ¹ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

[28:6]  ² sn He has heard my plea for mercy. The psalmist’s mood abruptly changes at this point, because the Lord responded positively to his petition and assured him that he would deliver him.

[33:4]  ³ sn For the Lord’s decrees are just… After the call to praise (vv. 1-3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.

[33:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.

[33:4]  ⁵ tn Or “upright.”

[33:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”

[33:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “to save from death their live[s].”

[33:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “and to keep them alive in famine.”

[34:20]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew participial form suggests such protection is characteristic.

[34:20]  ¹⁰ tn That is, he protects the godly from physical harm.

[34:20]  ¹¹ sn Not one of them is broken. The author of the Gospel of John saw a fulfillment of these words in Jesus’ experience on the cross (see John 19:31-37), for the Roman soldiers, when they saw that Jesus was already dead, did not break his legs as was customarily done to speed the death of crucified individuals. John’s use of the psalm seems strange, for the statement in its original context suggests that the Lord protects the godly from physical harm. Jesus’ legs may have remained unbroken, but he was brutally and unjustly executed by his enemies. John seems to give the statement a literal sense that is foreign to its original literary context by applying a promise of divine protection to a man who was seemingly not saved by God. However, John saw in this incident a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate deliverance and vindication. His unbroken bones were a reminder of God’s commitment to the godly and a sign of things to come. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end of the story; God vindicated him, as John goes on to explain in the following context (John 19:38-20:18).

[37:13]  ¹² tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.

[37:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.

[78:72]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[78:72]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”

[78:72]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”

[116:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.

[116:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I love because the Lord heard my voice, my pleas.” It is possible that “the Lord” originally appeared directly after “I love” and was later accidentally misplaced. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls that God heard his cry for help (note the perfect in v. 2a and the narrative in vv. 3-4).

[132:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “for.”

[132:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”