Mazmur 4:6

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

Mazmur 59:11

59:11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,

because then my people might forget the lesson. ² 

Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,

O Lord who shields us! ³ 

Mazmur 74:1

Psalm 74 ⁴ 

A well-written song ⁵  by Asaph.

74:1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? ⁶ 

Why does your anger burn ⁷  against the sheep of your pasture?

Mazmur 79:10

79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants

be avenged among the nations! ⁸ 

Mazmur 79:13

79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will continually thank you. ⁹ 

We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 137:3

137:3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs; ¹¹ 

those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: ¹² 

“Sing for us a song about Zion!” ¹³ 

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[4:6]  sn Smile upon us. Though many are discouraged, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and transform the situation.

[59:11]  ² tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”

[59:11]  sn My people might forget the lesson. Swift, sudden destruction might be quickly forgotten. The psalmist wants God’s judgment to be prolonged so that it might be a continual reminder of divine justice.

[59:11]  ³ tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”

[74:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., asks God to consider Israel’s sufferings and intervene on behalf of his people. He describes the ruined temple, recalls God’s mighty deeds in the past, begs for mercy, and calls for judgment upon God’s enemies.

[74:1]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[74:1]  ⁶ sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.

[74:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.

[79:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”

[79:13]  ⁹ tn Or (hyperbolically) “will thank you forever.”

[79:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation we will report your praise.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[137:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”

[137:3]  ¹² tn Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 236.

[137:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.