Mazmur 44:22

44:22 Yet because of you ¹  we are killed all day long;

we are treated like ²  sheep at the slaughtering block. ³ 

Mazmur 44:11

44:11 You handed us ⁴  over like sheep to be eaten;

you scattered us among the nations.

Mazmur 51:16

51:16 Certainly ⁵  you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; ⁶ 

you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. ⁷ 

Mazmur 50:5

50:5 He says: ⁸ 

“Assemble my covenant people before me, ⁹ 

those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice!” ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 94:6

94:6 They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land,

and they murder the fatherless. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 40:6

40:6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. ¹² 

You make that quite clear to me! ¹³ 

You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.

Mazmur 50:8

50:8 I am not condemning ¹⁴  you because of your sacrifices,

or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 106:28

106:28 They worshiped ¹⁶  Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 51:17

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit ¹⁸  –

O God, a humble and repentant heart ¹⁹  you will not reject. ²⁰ 

[44:22]  ¹ tn The statement “because of you” (1) may simply indicate that God is the cause of the Israelites’ defeat (see vv. 9-14, where the nation’s situation is attributed directly to God’s activity, and cf. NEB, NRSV), or (2) it may suggest they suffer because of their allegiance to God (see Ps 69:7 and Jer 15:15). In this case one should translate, “for your sake” (cf. NASB, NIV). The citation of this verse in Rom 8:36 follows the LXX (Ps 43:23 LXX), where the Greek term ἕνεκεν (Jeneken; LXX ἕνεκα) may likewise mean “because of” or “for the sake of” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἕνεκα 1).

[44:22]  ² tn Or “regarded as.”

[44:22]  ³ tn Heb “like sheep of slaughtering,” that is, sheep destined for slaughter.

[44:11]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[51:16]  ⁵ tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.

[51:16]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)

[51:16]  ⁷ sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.

[50:5]  ⁸ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.

[50:5]  ⁹ tn Or “Gather to me my covenant people.” The Hebrew term חָסִיד (khasid, “covenant people”) elsewhere in the psalms is used in a positive sense of God’s loyal followers (see the note at Ps 4:3), but here, as the following line makes clear, the term has a neutral sense and simply refers to those who have outwardly sworn allegiance to God, not necessarily to those whose loyalty is genuine.

[50:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the cutters of my covenant according to sacrifice.” A sacrifice accompanied the covenant-making ceremony and formally ratified the agreement (see Exod 24:3-8).

[94:6]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 82:3; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[40:6]  ¹² tn Heb “sacrifice and offering you do not desire.” The statement is exaggerated for the sake of emphasis (see Ps 51:16 as well). God is pleased with sacrifices, but his first priority is obedience and loyalty (see 1 Sam 15:22). Sacrifices and offerings apart from genuine allegiance are meaningless (see Isa 1:11-20).

[40:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “ears you hollowed out for me.” The meaning of this odd expression is debated (this is the only collocation of “hollowed out” and “ears” in the OT). It may have been an idiomatic expression referring to making a point clear to a listener. The LXX has “but a body you have prepared for me,” a reading which is followed in Heb 10:5.

[50:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “rebuking.”

[50:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”

[106:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “joined themselves to.”

[106:28]  sn They worshiped Baal of Peor. See Num 25:3, 5. Baal of Peor was a local manifestation of the Canaanite deity Baal located at Peor.

[106:28]  ¹⁷ tn Here “the dead” may refer to deceased ancestors (see Deut 26:14). Another option is to understand the term as a derogatory reference to the various deities which the Israelites worshiped at Peor along with Baal (see Num 25:2 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 49).

[51:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a broken spirit.”

[51:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”

[51:17]  ²⁰ tn Or “despise.”