Psalms 9:14

9:14 Then I will ¹  tell about all your praiseworthy acts; ² 

in the gates of Daughter Zion ³  I will rejoice because of your deliverance.” ⁴ 

Psalms 12:5

12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ⁵ 

because of the painful cries ⁶  of the needy,

I will spring into action,” ⁷  says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ⁸ 

Psalms 14:7

14:7 I wish the deliverance ⁹  of Israel would come from Zion!

When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, ¹⁰ 

may Jacob rejoice, ¹¹ 

may Israel be happy! ¹² 

Psalms 18:6

18:6 In my distress I called to the Lord;

I cried out to my God. ¹³ 

From his heavenly temple ¹⁴  he heard my voice;

he listened to my cry for help. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 20:6

20:6 Now I am sure ¹⁶  that the Lord will deliver ¹⁷  his chosen king; ¹⁸ 

he will intervene for him ¹⁹  from his holy heavenly temple, ²⁰ 

and display his mighty ability to deliver. ²¹ 

Psalms 21:1

Psalm 21 ²² 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; ²³ 

he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. ²⁴ 

Psalms 22:25

22:25 You are the reason I offer praise ²⁵  in the great assembly;

I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. ²⁶ 

Psalms 31:17

31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,

for I call out to you!

May evil men be humiliated!

May they go wailing to the grave! ²⁷ 

Psalms 48:10

48:10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth

is worthy of your reputation, O God. ²⁸ 

You execute justice! ²⁹ 

Psalms 53:1

Psalm 53 ³⁰ 

For the music director; according to the machalath style; ³¹  a well-written song ³²  by David.

53:1 Fools say to themselves, ³³  “There is no God.” ³⁴ 

They sin and commit evil deeds; ³⁵ 

none of them does what is right. ³⁶ 

Psalms 55:12

55:12 Indeed, ³⁷  it is not an enemy who insults me,

or else I could bear it;

it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, ³⁸ 

or else I could hide from him.

Psalms 58:9

58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, ³⁹ 

he ⁴⁰  will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. ⁴¹ 

Psalms 68:30

68:30 Sound your battle cry ⁴²  against the wild beast of the reeds, ⁴³ 

and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! ⁴⁴ 

They humble themselves ⁴⁵  and offer gold and silver as tribute. ⁴⁶ 

God ⁴⁷  scatters ⁴⁸  the nations that like to do battle.

Psalms 76:11

76:11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them!

Let all those who surround him ⁴⁹  bring tribute to the awesome one!

Psalms 86:17

86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! ⁵⁰ 

Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, ⁵¹ 

for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. ⁵² 

Psalms 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ⁵³  and Babylon to my followers. ⁵⁴ 

Here are ⁵⁵  Philistia and Tyre, ⁵⁶  along with Ethiopia. ⁵⁷ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ⁵⁸ 

Psalms 102:26

102:26 They will perish,

but you will endure. ⁵⁹ 

They will wear out like a garment;

like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. ⁶⁰ 

Psalms 106:23

106:23 He threatened ⁶¹  to destroy them,

but ⁶²  Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him ⁶³ 

and turned back his destructive anger. ⁶⁴ 

Psalms 132:12

132:12 If your sons keep my covenant

and the rules I teach them,

their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”

Psalms 140:4

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ⁶⁵  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ⁶⁶ 

Psalms 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ⁶⁷ 

I have nowhere to run; ⁶⁸ 

no one is concerned about my life. ⁶⁹ 

Psalms 142:7

142:7 Free me ⁷⁰  from prison,

that I may give thanks to your name.

Because of me the godly will assemble, ⁷¹ 

for you will vindicate me. ⁷² 

[9:14]  ¹ tn Or “so that I might.”

[9:14]  ² tn Heb “all your praise.” “Praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt it.

[9:14]  ³ sn Daughter Zion is an idiomatic title for Jerusalem. It appears frequently in the prophets, but only here in the psalms.

[9:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “in your deliverance.”

[12:5]  ⁵ tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.

[12:5]  ⁶ tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).

[12:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will rise up.”

[12:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the Lord would be promising protection to those who have the courage to support the oppressed in the court of law. However, the first part of the verse focuses on the oppressed, not their advocates.

[14:7]  ⁹ sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[14:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[14:7]  ¹¹ tn The verb form is jussive.

[14:7]  ¹² tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[18:6]  ¹³ tn In this poetic narrative context the four prefixed verbal forms in v. 6 are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.

[18:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from his temple.” Verse 10, which pictures God descending from the sky, indicates that the heavenly temple is in view, not the earthly one.

[18:6]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “and my cry for help before him came into his ears.” 2 Sam 22:7 has a shorter reading, “my cry for help, in his ears.” It is likely that Ps 18:6 MT as it now stands represents a conflation of two readings: (1) “my cry for help came before him,” (2) “my cry for help came into his ears.” See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 144, n. 13.

[20:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “know.”

[20:6]  ¹⁸ tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.

[20:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.

[20:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he will answer him.”

[20:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”

[20:6]  ²² tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).

[21:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.

[21:1]  ²² tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).

[21:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”

[22:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from with you [is] my praise.”

[22:25]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.” When asking the Lord for help, the psalmists would typically promise to praise the Lord publicly if he intervened and delivered them.

[31:17]  ²⁹ tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”

[48:10]  ³³ tn Heb “like your name, O God, so [is] your praise to the ends of the earth.” Here “name” refers to God’s reputation and revealed character.

[48:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your right hand is full of justice.” The “right hand” suggests activity and power.

[53:1]  ³⁷ sn Psalm 53. This psalm is very similar to Ps 14. The major difference comes in v. 5, which corresponds to, but differs quite a bit from, Ps 14:5-6, and in the use of the divine name. Ps 14 uses “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, “Yahweh”) in vv. 2a, 4, 6, and 7, while Ps 53 employs “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) throughout, as one might expect in Pss 42-83, where the name “Yahweh” is relatively infrequent. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

[53:1]  ³⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מָחֲלַת (makhalat, “machalath”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term also appears in the heading of Ps 88.

[53:1]  ³⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[53:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

[53:1]  ⁴¹ sn There is no God. This statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that he is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

[53:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “they act corruptly, they do evil [with] injustice.” Ps 14:1 has עֲלִילָה (’alilah, “a deed”) instead of עָוֶל (’aval, “injustice”). The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

[53:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[55:12]  ⁴¹ tn Or “for.”

[55:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.

[58:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”

[58:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.

[58:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.

[68:30]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[68:30]  ⁵⁰ sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.

[68:30]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”

[68:30]  ⁵² tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.

[68:30]  ⁵³ tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).

[68:30]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[68:30]  ⁵⁵ tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).

[76:11]  ⁵³ tn The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.

[86:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

[86:17]  ⁵⁸ tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

[86:17]  ⁵⁹ tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).

[87:4]  ⁶¹ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ⁶² tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ⁶³ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ⁶⁴ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[102:26]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “stand.”

[102:26]  ⁶⁶ tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.

[106:23]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “and he said.”

[106:23]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”

[106:23]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”

[106:23]  ⁷² tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”

[140:4]  ⁷³ tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “to push down my steps.”

[142:4]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”

[142:7]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “bring out my life.”

[142:7]  ⁸² tn Or “gather around.”

[142:7]  ⁸³ tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.