Mazmur 61:2-6
Konteks61:2 From the most remote place on earth 1
I call out to you in my despair. 2
Lead me 3 up to an inaccessible rocky summit! 4
61:3 Indeed, 5 you are 6 my shelter,
a strong tower that protects me from the enemy. 7
61:4 I will be a permanent guest in your home; 8
I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. 9 (Selah)
61:5 For you, O God, hear my vows;
you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers. 10
61:6 Give the king long life!
Make his lifetime span several generations! 11
[61:2] 1 tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).
[61:2] 2 tn Heb “while my heart faints.”
[61:2] 3 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
[61:2] 4 tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”
[61:3] 7 tn Heb “a strong tower from the face of an enemy.”
[61:4] 8 tn Heb “I will live as a resident alien in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[61:4] 9 sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.
[61:5] 10 tn Heb “you grant the inheritance of those who fear your name.” “Inheritance” is normally used of land which is granted as an inheritance; here it refers metaphorically to the blessings granted God’s loyal followers. To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).
[61:6] 11 tn Heb “days upon days of the king add, his years like generation and generation.”
[61:6] sn It is not certain if the (royal) psalmist is referring to himself in the third person in this verse, or if an exile is praying on behalf of the king.
