Mazmur 8:1

Psalm 8 ¹ 

For the music director, according to the gittith style; ²  a psalm of David.

8:1 O Lord, our Lord, ³ 

how magnificent ⁴  is your reputation ⁵  throughout the earth!

You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! ⁶ 

Mazmur 19:10

19:10 They are of greater value ⁷  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ⁸  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Mazmur 31:20

31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks ⁹  of men; ¹⁰ 

you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 39:11

39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; ¹² 

like a moth you slowly devour their strength. ¹³ 

Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)

Mazmur 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ¹⁴ 

praising our God. ¹⁵ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ¹⁶ 

[8:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.

[8:1]  ² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.

[8:1]  ³ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

[8:1]  ⁴ tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”

[8:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[8:1]  ⁶ tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.

[19:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[31:20]  ⁹ tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”

[31:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.

[31:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”

[39:11]  ¹² tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”

[39:11]  ¹³ tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss.

[40:3]  ¹⁴ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.