Mazmur 51:18

51:18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! ¹ 

Fortify ²  the walls of Jerusalem! ³ 

Mazmur 74:15

74:15 You broke open the spring and the stream; ⁴ 

you dried up perpetually flowing rivers. ⁵ 

Mazmur 104:4

104:4 He makes the winds his messengers,

and the flaming fire his attendant. ⁶ 

Mazmur 132:9-10

132:9 May your priests be clothed with integrity! ⁷ 

May your loyal followers shout for joy!

132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,

do not reject your chosen king! ⁸ 

Mazmur 135:14

135:14 For the Lord vindicates ⁹  his people,

and has compassion on his servants. ¹⁰ 

[51:18]  ¹ tn Heb “do what is good for Zion in your favor.”

[51:18]  ² tn Or “Build.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[51:18]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[74:15]  ⁴ sn You broke open the spring and the stream. Perhaps this alludes to the way in which God provided water for the Israelites as they traveled in the wilderness following the exodus (see Ps 78:15-16, 20; 105:41).

[74:15]  ⁵ sn Perpetually flowing rivers are rivers that contain water year round, unlike the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season. Perhaps the psalmist here alludes to the drying up of the Jordan River when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan under Joshua (see Josh 3-4).

[104:4]  ⁶ tc Heb “and his attendants a flaming fire.” The lack of agreement between the singular “fire” and plural “attendants” has prompted various emendations. Some read “fire and flame.” The present translation assumes an emendation to “his attendant” (יו in the Hebrew text being virtually dittographic).

[104:4]  sn In Ugaritic mythology Yam’s messengers appear as flaming fire before the assembly of the gods. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 42.

[132:9]  ⁷ tn Or “righteousness.”

[132:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”

[135:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the Lord “judges on behalf of” his people. The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic actions.

[135:14]  ¹⁰ sn Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.