Mazmur 32:6

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ¹  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ² 

Certainly ³  when the surging water ⁴  rises,

it will not reach them. ⁵ 

Mazmur 40:16

40:16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!

May those who love to experience ⁶  your deliverance say continually, ⁷ 

“May the Lord be praised!” ⁸ 

Mazmur 43:4

43:4 Then I will go ⁹  to the altar of God,

to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, ¹⁰ 

so that I express my thanks to you, ¹¹  O God, my God, with a harp.

Mazmur 60:4

60:4 You have given your loyal followers ¹²  a rallying flag,

so that they might seek safety from the bow. ¹³  (Selah)

Mazmur 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ¹⁴ 

Do not reject me, ¹⁵ 

or I will join ¹⁶  those descending into the grave. ¹⁷ 

[32:6]  ¹ 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; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ² tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ³ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ⁴ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.

[40:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by the Lord.

[40:16]  ⁷ tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing upon the godly.

[40:16]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great” (cf. NRSV). See Ps 35:27.

[43:4]  ⁹ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”

[43:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[43:4]  ¹¹ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.

[60:4]  ¹² tn Heb “those who fear you.”

[60:4]  ¹³ tn There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” (HALOT 681 s.v. נוס) or “take flight for oneself” (BDB 630-31 s.v. נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” (BDB 651 s.v. II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” (HALOT 704 s.v. II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; BDB 905-6 s.v. קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qosht, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. NASB). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”

[143:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.