Mazmur 65:5

65:5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,

O God, our savior. ¹ 

All the ends of the earth trust in you, ² 

as well as those living across the wide seas. ³ 

Mazmur 88:5

88:5 adrift ⁴  among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power. ⁵ 

Mazmur 127:1

Psalm 127 ⁶ 

A song of ascents, ⁷  by Solomon.

127:1 If the Lord does not build a house, ⁸ 

then those who build it work in vain.

If the Lord does not guard a city, ⁹ 

then the watchman stands guard in vain.

[65:5]  ¹ tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”

[65:5]  ² tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”

[65:5]  sn All the ends of the earth trust in you. This idealistic portrayal of universal worship is typical hymnic hyperbole, though it does anticipate eschatological reality.

[65:5]  ³ tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rÿkhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.

[88:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “from your hand.”

[127:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 127. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist teaches that one does not find security by one’s own efforts, for God alone gives stability and security.

[127:1]  ⁷ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[127:1]  ⁸ sn The expression build a house may have a double meaning here. It may refer on the surface level to a literal physical structure in which a family lives, but at a deeper, metaphorical level it refers to building, perpetuating, and maintaining a family line. See Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam 2:35; 2 Sam 7:27; 1 Kgs 11:38; 1 Chr 17:10, 25. Having a family line provided security in ancient Israel.

[127:1]  ⁹ sn The city symbolizes community security, which is the necessary framework for family security.