Mazmur 8:3

8:3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,

and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, ¹ 

Mazmur 9:11

9:11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules ²  in Zion!

Tell the nations what he has done! ³ 

Mazmur 18:26

18:26 You prove to be reliable ⁴  to one who is blameless,

but you prove to be deceptive ⁵  to one who is perverse. ⁶ 

Mazmur 30:4

30:4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers ⁷  of his;

give thanks to his holy name. ⁸ 

Mazmur 38:19

38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; ⁹ 

those who hate me without cause outnumber me. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 45:14

45:14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.

Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,

are led before you. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 56:12

56:12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God; ¹² 

I will give you the thank-offerings you deserve, ¹³ 

Mazmur 65:10

65:10 You saturate ¹⁴  its furrows,

and soak ¹⁵  its plowed ground. ¹⁶ 

With rain showers you soften its soil, ¹⁷ 

and make its crops grow. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 77:11

77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord.

Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 89:30

89:30 If his sons reject my law

and disobey my regulations,

Mazmur 92:9

92:9 Indeed, ²⁰  look at your enemies, O Lord!

Indeed, ²¹  look at how your enemies perish!

All the evildoers are scattered!

Mazmur 102:14

102:14 Indeed, ²²  your servants take delight in her stones,

and feel compassion for ²³  the dust of her ruins. ²⁴ 

[8:3]  ¹ tn Heb “when I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars which you established.” The verb “[and] see” is understood by ellipsis in the second half of the verse.

[9:11]  ² tn Heb “sits” (i.e., enthroned, and therefore ruling – see v. 4). Another option is to translate as “lives” or “dwells.”

[9:11]  ³ tn Heb “declare among the nations his deeds.”

[18:26]  ⁴ tn Or “blameless.”

[18:26]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb פָתַל (patal) is used in only three other texts. In Gen 30:8 it means literally “to wrestle,” or “to twist.” In Job 5:13 it refers to devious individuals, and in Prov 8:8 to deceptive words.

[18:26]  ⁶ tn The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted, crooked,” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse. It appears frequently in Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6). A righteous king opposes such people (Ps 101:4).

[18:26]  sn Verses 25-26 affirm God’s justice. He responds to people in accordance with their moral character. His response mirrors their actions. The faithful and blameless find God to be loyal and reliable in his dealings with them. But deceivers discover he is able and willing to use deceit to destroy them. For a more extensive discussion of the theme of divine deception in the OT, see R. B. Chisholm, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28.

[30:4]  ⁷ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[30:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The noun זֵכֵר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 97:12.The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.

[38:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).

[38:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “are many.”

[45:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “virgins after her, her companions, are led to you.” Some emend לָךְ (lakh, “to you”) to לָהּ (lah, “to her,” i.e., the princess), because the princess is now being spoken of in the third person (vv. 13-14a), rather than being addressed directly (as in vv. 10-12). However, the ambiguous suffixed form לָךְ need not be taken as second feminine singular. The suffix can be understood as a pausal second masculine singular form, addressed to the king. The translation assumes this to be the case; note that the king is addressed once more in vv. 16-17, where the second person pronouns are masculine.

[56:12]  ¹² tn Heb “upon me, O God, [are] your vows.”

[56:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will repay thank-offerings to you.”

[65:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “saturating” [the form is an infinitive absolute].

[65:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “flatten, cause to sink.”

[65:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “trenches,” or “furrows.”

[65:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “soften it,” that is, the earth.

[65:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “its vegetation you bless.” Divine “blessing” often involves endowing an object with special power or capacity.

[77:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”

[77:11]  sn The psalmist refuses to allow skepticism to win out. God has revealed himself to his people in tangible, incontrovertible ways in the past and the psalmist vows to remember the historical record as a source of hope for the future.

[92:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “for.”

[92:9]  ²¹ tn Or “for.”

[102:14]  ²² tn Or “for.”

[102:14]  ²³ tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.

[102:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.