Mazmur 30:12

30:12 So now ¹  my heart ²  will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always ³  give thanks to you.

Mazmur 39:5

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, ⁴ 

and my life span is nothing from your perspective. ⁵ 

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. ⁶ 

Mazmur 57:9

57:9 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Master!

I will sing praises to you before foreigners! ⁷ 

Mazmur 108:3

108:3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord!

I will sing praises to you before foreigners! ⁸ 

[30:12]  ¹ tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”

[30:12]  ² tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.

[30:12]  ³ tn Or “forever.”

[39:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.

[39:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”

[39:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”

[57:9]  ⁷ tn Or “the peoples.”

[108:3]  ⁸ tn Or “the peoples.”