Mazmur 35:12

35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done; ¹ 

I am overwhelmed with sorrow. ² 

Mazmur 119:56

119:56 This ³  has been my practice,

for I observe your precepts.

Mazmur 119:112

119:112 I am determined to obey ⁴  your statutes

at all times, to the very end.

Mazmur 119:143

119:143 Distress and hardship confront ⁵  me,

yet I find delight in your commands.

Mazmur 119:148

119:148 My eyes anticipate the nighttime hours,

so that I can meditate on your word.

Mazmur 119:171

119:171 May praise flow freely from my lips,

for you teach me your statutes.

Mazmur 121:1

Psalm 121 ⁶ 

A song of ascents. ⁷ 

121:1 I look up ⁸  toward the hills.

From where ⁹  does my help come?

Mazmur 143:4

143:4 My strength leaves me; ¹⁰ 

I am absolutely shocked. ¹¹ 

[35:12]  ¹ tn Heb “they repay me evil instead of good.”

[35:12]  ² tn Heb “[there is] bereavement to my soul.”

[119:56]  ³ tn Heb “this has been to me.” The demonstrative “this” (1) refers back to the practices mentioned in vv. 54-55, or (2) looks forward to the statement in the second line, in which case the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the second line should be translated “that.”

[119:112]  ⁴ tn Heb “I turn my heart to do.”

[119:143]  ⁵ tn Heb “find.”

[121:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 121. The psalm affirms that the Lord protects his people Israel. Unless the psalmist addresses an observer (note the second person singular forms in vv. 3-8), it appears there are two or three speakers represented in the psalm, depending on how one takes v. 3. The translation assumes that speaker one talks in vv. 1-2, that speaker two responds to him with a prayer in v. 3 (this assumes the verbs are true jussives of prayer), and that speaker three responds with words of assurance in vv. 4-8. If the verbs in v. 3 are taken as a rhetorical use of the jussive, then there are two speakers. Verses 3-8 are speaker two’s response to the words of speaker one. See the note on the word “sleep” at the end of v. 3.

[121:1]  ⁷ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[121:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[121:1]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term מֵאַיִן (me’ayin) is interrogative, not relative, in function. Rather than directly stating that his source of help descends from the hills, the psalmist is asking, “From where does my help come?” Nevertheless, the first line does indicate that he is looking toward the hills for help, probably indicating that he is looking up toward the sky in anticipation of supernatural intervention. The psalmist assumes the dramatic role of one needing help. He answers his own question in v. 2.

[143:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[143:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in my midst my heart is shocked.” For a similar use of the Hitpolel of שָׁמֵם (shamem), see Isa 59:16; 63:5.