Mazmur 10:4

10:4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,

“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.” ¹ 

Mazmur 27:8

27:8 My heart tells me to pray to you, ² 

and I do pray to you, O Lord. ³ 

Mazmur 27:1

Psalm 27 ⁴ 

By David.

27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! ⁵ 

I fear no one! ⁶ 

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one! ⁷ 

Mazmur 28:9

28:9 Deliver your people!

Empower ⁸  the nation that belongs to you! ⁹ 

Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms ¹⁰  at all times! ¹¹ 

Mazmur 28:2

28:2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,

when I lift my hands ¹²  toward your holy temple! ¹³ 

Mazmur 15:2

15:2 Whoever lives a blameless life, ¹⁴ 

does what is right,

and speaks honestly. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 19:3

19:3 There is no actual speech or word,

nor is its ¹⁶  voice literally heard.

Yesaya 55:6

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ¹⁷ 

call to him while he is nearby!

[10:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the wicked [one], according to the height of his nose, he does not seek, there is no God, all his thoughts.” The phrase “height of his nose” probably refers to an arrogant or snooty attitude; it likely pictures one with his nose turned upward toward the sky in pride. One could take the “wicked” as the subject of the negated verb “seek,” in which case the point is that the wicked do not “seek” God. The translation assumes that this statement, along with “there is no God,” is what the wicked man thinks to himself. In this case God is the subject of the verb “seek,” and the point is that God will not hold the wicked man accountable for his actions. Verse 13 strongly favors this interpretation. The statement “there is no God” is 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 v. 11).

[27:8]  ² tc Heb “concerning you my heart says, ‘Seek my face.’” The verb form “seek” is plural, but this makes no sense here, for the psalmist is addressed. The verb should be emended to a singular form. The first person pronominal suffix on “face” also makes little sense, unless it is the voice of the Lord he hears. His “heart” is viewed as speaking, however, so it is better to emend the form to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”).

[27:8]  ³ tn Heb “your face, O Lord, I seek.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 24:6; 105:4).

[27:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

[27:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).

[27:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[27:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[28:9]  ⁸ tn Or “bless.”

[28:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.

[28:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “shepherd them and lift them up.”

[28:9]  sn The shepherd metaphor is sometimes associated with royal responsibility. See 2 Sam 5:2; 7:7; Mic 5:2-4).

[28:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “forever.”

[28:2]  ¹² sn I lift my hands. Lifting one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer.

[28:2]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term דְּבִיר (dÿvir, “temple”) actually refers to the most holy place within the sanctuary.

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “one who walks blamelessly.”

[15:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one who speaks truth in his heart”; or “one who speaks truth [that is] in his heart.” This apparently refers to formulating a truthful statement in one’s mind and then honestly revealing that statement in one’s speech.

[19:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their.” The antecedent of the plural pronoun is “heavens” (v. 1).

[55:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.