Mazmur 84:6

84:6 As they pass through the Baca Valley, ¹ 

he provides a spring for them. ² 

The rain ³  even covers it with pools of water. ⁴ 

Mazmur 18:29

18:29 Indeed, ⁵  with your help ⁶  I can charge against ⁷  an army; ⁸ 

by my God’s power ⁹  I can jump over a wall. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 22:21

22:21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion, ¹¹ 

and from the horns of the wild oxen! ¹² 

You have answered me! ¹³ 

Mazmur 30:3

30:3 O Lord, you pulled me ¹⁴  up from Sheol;

you rescued me from among those descending into the grave. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 44:22

44:22 Yet because of you ¹⁶  we are killed all day long;

we are treated like ¹⁷  sheep at the slaughtering block. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 53:3

53:3 Everyone rejects God; ¹⁹ 

they are all morally corrupt. ²⁰ 

None of them does what is right, ²¹ 

not even one!

Mazmur 68:3

68:3 But the godly ²²  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ²³ 

Mazmur 83:11

83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, ²⁴ 

and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna, ²⁵ 

Mazmur 31:10

31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;

my years draw to a close as I groan. ²⁶ 

My strength fails me because of ²⁷  my sin,

and my bones become brittle. ²⁸ 

Mazmur 68:17

68:17 God has countless chariots;

they number in the thousands. ²⁹ 

The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor. ³⁰ 

[84:6]  ¹ tn The translation assumes that the Hebrew phrase עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא (’emeq habbakha’) is the name of an otherwise unknown arid valley through which pilgrims to Jerusalem passed. The term בָּכָא (bakha’) may be the name of a particular type of plant or shrub that grew in this valley. O. Borowski (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 130) suggests it is the black mulberry. Some take the phrase as purely metaphorical and relate בָּכָא to the root בָּכָה (bakhah, “to weep”). In this case one might translate, “the valley of weeping” or “the valley of affliction.”

[84:6]  ² tc The MT reads “a spring they make it,” but this makes little sense. Many medieval Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX, understand God to be the subject and the valley to be the object, “he [God] makes it [the valley] [into] a spring.”

[84:6]  ³ tn This rare word may refer to the early (or autumn) rains (see Joel 2:23).

[84:6]  ⁴ tc The MT reads בְּרָכוֹת (bÿrakhot, “blessings”) but the preceding reference to a “spring” favors an emendation to בְּרֵכוֹת (bÿrekhot, “pools”).

[84:6]  sn Pools of water. Because water is so necessary for life, it makes an apt symbol for divine favor and blessing. As the pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem, God provided for their physical needs and gave them a token of his favor and of the blessings awaiting them at the temple.

[18:29]  ⁵ tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.

[18:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “by you.”

[18:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will run.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 29 indicate the subject’s potential or capacity to perform an action. Though one might expect a preposition to follow the verb here, this need not be the case with the verb רוּץ (ruts; see 1 Sam 17:22). Some emend the Qal to a Hiphil form of the verb and translate, “I put to flight [Heb “cause to run”] an army.”

[18:29]  ⁸ tn More specifically, the noun גְּדוּד (gÿdud) refers to a raiding party or to a contingent of troops.

[18:29]  sn I can charge against an army. The picture of a divinely empowered warrior charging against an army in almost superhuman fashion appears elsewhere in ancient Near Eastern literature. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 228.

[18:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “and by my God.”

[18:29]  ¹⁰ sn I can jump over a wall. The psalmist uses hyperbole to emphasize his God-given military superiority.

[22:21]  ¹¹ sn The psalmist again compares his enemies to vicious dogs and ferocious lions (see vv. 13, 16).

[22:21]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term רֵמִים (remim) appears to be an alternate spelling of רְאֵמִים (rÿ’emim, “wild oxen”; see BDB 910 s.v. רְאֵם).

[22:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “and from the horns of the wild oxen you answer me.” Most take the final verb with the preceding prepositional phrase. Some understand the verb form as a relatively rare precative perfect, expressing a wish or request (see IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew. (See the discussion at Ps 3:7.) Others prefer to take the perfect in its usual indicative sense. The psalmist, perhaps in response to an oracle of salvation, affirms confidently that God has answered him, assuring him that deliverance is on the way. The present translation takes the prepositional phrase as parallel to the preceding “from the mouth of the lion” and as collocated with the verb “rescue” at the beginning of the verse. “You have answered me” is understood as a triumphant shout which marks a sudden shift in tone and introduces the next major section of the psalm. By isolating the statement syntactically, the psalmist highlights the declaration.

[30:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “my life.”

[30:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you kept me alive from those descending into the pit.” The Hebrew noun בוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib); the marginal reading (Qere) has, “you kept me alive so that I did not go down into the pit.”

[44:22]  ¹⁶ tn The statement “because of you” (1) may simply indicate that God is the cause of the Israelites’ defeat (see vv. 9-14, where the nation’s situation is attributed directly to God’s activity, and cf. NEB, NRSV), or (2) it may suggest they suffer because of their allegiance to God (see Ps 69:7 and Jer 15:15). In this case one should translate, “for your sake” (cf. NASB, NIV). The citation of this verse in Rom 8:36 follows the LXX (Ps 43:23 LXX), where the Greek term ἕνεκεν (Jeneken; LXX ἕνεκα) may likewise mean “because of” or “for the sake of” (BDAG 334 s.v. ἕνεκα 1).

[44:22]  ¹⁷ tn Or “regarded as.”

[44:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “like sheep of slaughtering,” that is, sheep destined for slaughter.

[53:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “all of it turns away.” Ps 14:1 has הָכֹּל (hakkol) instead of כֻּלּוֹ, and סָר (sar, “turn aside”) instead of סָג (sag, “turn away”).

[53:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[53:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[68:3]  ²² tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3]  ²³ tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

[83:11]  ²⁴ sn Oreb and Zeeb were the generals of the Midianite army that was defeated by Gideon. The Ephraimites captured and executed both of them and sent their heads to Gideon (Judg 7:24-25).

[83:11]  ²⁵ sn Zebah and Zalmunna were the Midianite kings. Gideon captured them and executed them (Judg 8:1-21).

[31:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”

[31:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “stumbles in.”

[31:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “grow weak.”

[68:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “thousands of [?].” The meaning of the word שִׁנְאָן (shin’an), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Perhaps the form should be emended to שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan, “at ease”) and be translated here “held in reserve.”

[68:17]  ³⁰ tc The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֲדֹנָי בָּא מִסִּינַי (’adonay ba’ missinay; see BHS note b-b and Deut 33:2).