Mazmur 45:7

45:7 You love ¹  justice and hate evil. ² 

For this reason God, your God ³  has anointed you ⁴ 

with the oil of joy, ⁵  elevating you above your companions. ⁶ 

Mazmur 26:11

26:11 But I have integrity! ⁷ 

Rescue me ⁸  and have mercy on me!

Mazmur 117:2

117:2 For his loyal love towers ⁹  over us,

and the Lord’s faithfulness endures.

Praise the Lord!

Mazmur 119:121

ע (Ayin)

119:121 I do what is fair and right. ¹⁰ 

Do not abandon me to my oppressors!

[45:7]  ¹ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ² sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ³ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁴ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁵ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[45:7]  sn Verses 6-7 are quoted in Heb 1:8-9, where they are applied to Jesus.

[26:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.

[26:11]  ⁸ tn Or “redeem me.”

[117:2]  ⁹ tn For this sense of the Hebrew verb גָּבַר (gavar), see Ps 103:11 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

[119:121]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “do justice and righteousness.”