Mazmur 31:22-23

31:22 I jumped to conclusions and said, ¹ 

“I am cut off from your presence!” ² 

But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.

31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers ³  of his!

The Lord protects those who have integrity,

but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. ⁴ 

Mazmur 40:17

40:17 I am oppressed and needy! ⁵ 

May the Lord pay attention to me! ⁶ 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O my God, do not delay!

Mazmur 49:12

49:12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, ⁷ 

they are like animals ⁸  that perish. ⁹ 

Mazmur 92:10

92:10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. ¹⁰ 

I am covered ¹¹  with fresh oil.

[31:22]  ¹ tn Heb “and I, I said in my haste.”

[31:22]  ² tn Heb “from before your eyes.”

[31:23]  ³ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[31:23]  ⁴ tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.

[40:17]  ⁵ sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[40:17]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The Lord will pay attention to me” (cf. NRSV). The parallel in Ps 70:5 has, “O God, hurry to me!” For this reason some prefer to emend יַחֲשָׁב (yakhashav, “may he pay attention”) to חוּשָׁה (khushah, “hurry!”). The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward; elsewhere when the Qal of חָשַׁב (khashav, “reckon; consider”) is collocated with the preposition -ל (lamed) and a pronominal suffix there is an accompanying direct object or additional prepositional phrase/adverbial accusative (see Gen 15:6; 2 Sam 19:19; Job 13:24; 19:11; 33:10; Pss 32:2; 41:7; Amos 6:5).

[49:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “but mankind in honor does not remain.” The construction vav (ו) + noun at the beginning of the verse can be taken as contrastive in relation to what precedes. The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some scholars emend יָלִין (yalin, “remains”) to יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 20.

[49:12]  ⁸ tn Or “cattle.”

[49:12]  ⁹ tn The verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease; destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (“be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [דָּמָה, “be silent,” and דָּמָה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense in v. 20, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

[92:10]  ¹⁰ sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).

[92:10]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotaniy; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”