Mazmur 6:3

6:3 I am absolutely terrified, ¹ 

and you, Lord – how long will this continue? ² 

Mazmur 7:8

7:8 The Lord judges the nations. ³ 

Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, ⁴ 

because I am blameless, ⁵  O Exalted One! ⁶ 

Mazmur 44:12

44:12 You sold ⁷  your people for a pittance; ⁸ 

you did not ask a high price for them. ⁹ 

Mazmur 74:10

74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?

Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

Mazmur 94:9

94:9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?

Does the one who forms the human eye not see? ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 103:14

103:14 For he knows what we are made of; ¹¹ 

he realizes ¹²  we are made of clay. ¹³ 

Mazmur 119:9

ב (Bet)

119:9 How can a young person ¹⁴  maintain a pure life? ¹⁵ 

By guarding it according to your instructions! ¹⁶ 

[6:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my being is very terrified.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:3]  ² tn Heb “and you, Lord, how long?” The suffering psalmist speaks in broken syntax. He addresses God, but then simply cries out with a brief, but poignant, question: How long will this (= his suffering) continue?

[7:8]  ³ sn The Lord judges the nations. In hyperbolic fashion the psalmist pictures the nations assembled around the divine throne (v. 7a). He urges God to take his rightful place on the throne (v. 7b) and then pictures him making judicial decisions that vindicate the innocent (see vv. 8-16).

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “judge me, O Lord, according to my innocence.”

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.

[7:8]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.

[44:12]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “for what is not wealth.”

[44:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “you did not multiply their purchase prices.”

[94:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The one who plants an ear, does he not hear? The one who forms an eye, does he not see?”

[103:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “our form.”

[103:14]  ¹² tn Heb “remembers.”

[103:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “we [are] clay.”

[119:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “young man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender specific “young man” has been translated with the more neutral “young person.”

[119:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “purify his path.”

[119:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “by keeping according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”