¹ tn Heb “the people said.”

² tn Heb “march out.”

³ tn Heb “they will not place to us heart.”

⁴ tc The translation follows the LXX (except for the Lucianic recension), Symmachus, and Vulgate in reading אָתָּה (’atta, “you”) rather than MT עָתָּה (’atta, “now”).

⁵ tn Heb “servants” (also in v. 9).

⁶ tn Heb “the.”

⁷ tn Heb “the donkey.”

⁸ tn Heb “between the sky and the ground.”

⁹ tc 4QSam^a lacks the word “one.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “Why did you not strike him down there to the ground.”

¹¹ tn Heb “ten [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 4 ounces (114 grams) of silver by weight.

¹² tn Heb “and a girdle” (so KJV); NIV “a warrior’s belt”; CEV “a special belt”; NLT “a hero’s belt.”

¹³ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְלוּ (vÿlu, “and if”) rather than MT וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

¹⁴ tn Heb “weighing out in my hand.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “a thousand [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 25 pounds (11.4 kg) of silver by weight.

¹⁶ tn Heb “extend my hand against.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “in our ears.”

¹⁸ tc The Hebrew text is very difficult here. The MT reads מִי (mi, “who”), apparently yielding the following sense: “Show care, whoever you might be, for the youth Absalom.” The Syriac Peshitta reads li (“for me”), the Hebrew counterpart of which may also lie behind the LXX rendering μοι (moi, “for me”). This reading seems preferable here, since it restores sense to the passage and most easily explains the rise of the variant.

¹⁹ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and a number of the ancient versions in reading בְנַפְשִׁי (vÿnafshi, “against my life”) rather than the MT בְנַפְשׁוֹ (vÿnafsho, “against his life”).

²⁰ tn Heb “stood aloof.”

²¹ tn There is a play on the word “heart” here that is difficult to reproduce in English. Literally the Hebrew text says “he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak tree.” This figure of speech involves the use of the same word in different senses and is known as antanaclasis. It is illustrated in the familiar saying from the time of the American Revolution: “If we don’t hang together, we will all hang separately.” The present translation understands “heart” to be used somewhat figuratively for “chest” (cf. TEV, CEV), which explains why Joab’s armor bearers could still “kill” Absalom after he had been stabbed with three spears through the “heart.” Since trees do not have “chests” either, the translation uses “middle.”

²² tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet).

²³ tn Heb “and all Israel fled, each to his tent.” In this context this refers to the supporters of Absalom (see vv. 6-7, 16).

²⁴ tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

²⁵ tn Heb “a pillar.”

²⁶ tn Heb “that the Lord has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies.”

²⁷ tn Heb “but this day you will not bear good news.”

²⁸ tn The words “but he said” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

²⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁰ tn Heb “the two gates.”

³¹ tn Heb “good news is in his mouth.”

³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the runner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³³ tn Heb “I am seeing the running of the first one like the running of Ahimaaz.”

³⁴ tn Heb “Peace.”

³⁵ tn Heb “delivered over.”

³⁶ tn Heb “lifted their hand against.”

³⁷ tn Heb “And look, the Cushite came and the Cushite said.”

³⁸ tn Heb “for the Lord has vindicated you today from the hand of all those rising against you.”

³⁹ tn Heb “and all those rising against you for evil.”

⁴⁰ sn This marks the beginning of ch. 19 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 18:33, the verse numbers through 19:43 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 18:33 ET = 19:1 HT, 19:1 ET = 19:2 HT, 19:2 ET = 19:3 HT, etc., through 19:43 ET = 19:44 HT. From 20:1 the versification in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible is again the same.

⁴¹ tc One medieval Hebrew ms, some mss of the LXX, and the Vulgate lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.

⁴² tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.

⁴³ tn That is, to Christ.

⁴⁴ tn Or “chaste.”

⁴⁵ tn Grk “I fear lest somehow.”

⁴⁶ tn Or “the snake.”

⁴⁷ tn Or “craftiness.”

⁴⁸ tn Or “corrupted,” “seduced.”

⁴⁹ tc Although most mss (א² H Ψ 0121 0243 1739 1881 Ï) lack “and pure” (καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, kai th" Jagnothto"; Grk “and purity”) several important and early witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B D^[2] F G 33 81 104 pc ar r co) retain these words. Their presence in such mss across such a wide geographical distribution argues for their authenticity. The omission from the majority of mss can be explained by haplography, since the -τητος ending of ἁγνότητος is identical to the ending of ἁπλότητος (Japlothto", “sincerity”) three words back (ἁπλότητος καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος); further, since the meanings of “sincerity” and “purity” are similar they might seem redundant. A copyist would scarcely notice the omission because Paul’s statement still makes sense without “and from purity.”

⁵⁰ tn Or “preaches.”

⁵¹ tn Grk “another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed.”

⁵² tn Grk “a different spirit which you did not receive.”

⁵³ tn Grk “a different gospel which you did not accept.”

⁵⁴ tn Or “you endure it very well.”

⁵⁵ tn The implicit irony in Paul’s remark is brought out well by the TEV: “I do not think that I am the least bit inferior to those very special so-called ‘apostles’ of yours!”

sn The ‘super-apostles’ refers either (1) to the original apostles (the older interpretation) or (2) more probably, to Paul’s opponents in Corinth, in which case the designation is ironic.

⁵⁶ sn Unskilled in speaking means not professionally trained as a rhetorician.

⁵⁷ sn Paul is referring to humbling himself to the point of doing manual labor to support himself.

⁵⁸ tn Or “preached.”

⁵⁹ sn That is, serve them free of charge (cf. the end of v. 7).

⁶⁰ tn Grk “you, and when.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁶¹ tn If the participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") is taken as temporal rather than adjectival, the translation would be, “for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, fully supplied my needs” (similar to NASB).

⁶² tn Grk “needs, and I kept.” A new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁶³ tn That is, that Paul offers the gospel free of charge to the Corinthians (see 2 Cor 11:7).

⁶⁴ tn Or “silenced.”

⁶⁵ tn Grk “God knows!” The words “I do” are supplied for clarity. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁶⁶ tn Grk “an opportunity, so that they may be found just like us.”

⁶⁷ tn Or “dishonest.”

⁶⁸ tn Or “workers, masquerading.”

⁶⁹ tn Or “Satan himself masquerades.”

⁷⁰ tn Or “also masquerade.”

⁷¹ tn Or “their works.”

⁷² tn Or “am foolish.”

⁷³ tn Grk “with this confidence of boasting.” The genitive καυχήσεως (kauchsew") has been translated as an attributed genitive (the noun in the genitive gives an attribute of the noun modified).

⁷⁴ tn Or “say with the Lord’s authority.”

⁷⁵ sn Many is a reference to Paul’s opponents.

⁷⁶ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

⁷⁷ tn Or “you tolerate.”

⁷⁸ tn Or “you tolerate.”

⁷⁹ tn See L&N 88.212.

⁸⁰ tn Or “my shame.”

⁸¹ sn It seems best, in context, to see the statement we were too weak for that as a parenthetical and ironic comment by Paul on his physical condition (weakness or sickness) while he was with the Corinthians (cf. 2 Cor 12:7-10; Gal 4:15).

⁸² tn The words “to boast about” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and this phrase serves as the direct object of the preceding verb.

⁸³ tn Grk “I also dare”; the words “to boast about the same thing” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, and this phrase serves as the direct object of the preceding verb.

⁸⁴ tn Grk “forty less one”; this was a standard sentence. “Lashes” is supplied to clarify for the modern reader what is meant.

⁸⁵ sn Beaten with a rod refers to the Roman punishment of admonitio according to BDAG 902 s.v. ῥαβδίζω. Acts 16:22 describes one of these occasions in Philippi; in this case it was administered by the city magistrates, who had wide powers in a military colony.

⁸⁶ sn Received a stoning. See Acts 14:19, where this incident is described.

⁸⁷ tn Or “bandits.” The word normally refers more to highwaymen (“robbers”) but can also refer to insurrectionists or revolutionaries (“bandits”).

⁸⁸ tn Or “desert.”

⁸⁹ tn The two different words for labor are translated “in hard work and toil” by L&N 42.48.

⁹⁰ tn Grk “in cold and nakedness.” Paul does not mean complete nakedness, however, which would have been repugnant to a Jew; he refers instead to the lack of sufficient clothing, especially in cold weather. A related word is used to 1 Cor 4:11, also in combination with experiencing hunger and thirst.

⁹¹ sn Apart from other things. Paul refers here either (1) to the external sufferings just mentioned, or (2) he refers to other things he has left unmentioned.

⁹² tn “Anxious concern,” so translated in L&N 25.224.

⁹³ tn Or “who is caused to stumble.”

⁹⁴ tn Grk “If boasting is necessary.”

⁹⁵ tn Or “about the things related to my weakness.”

⁹⁶ tn Grk “ethnarch.”

sn The governor was an official called an ethnarch who was appointed to rule over a particular area or constituency on behalf of a king.

⁹⁷ tn Grk “the city of the Damascenes.”

⁹⁸ tn Or “to seize,” “to catch.”

⁹⁹ tn In Acts 9:25 the same basket used in Paul’s escape is called a σπυρίς (spuri"), a basket larger than a κόφινος (kofinos). It was very likely made out of rope, so the translation “rope-basket” is used.

¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “set your face toward.”

¹⁰¹ tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.” Ammon was located to the east of Israel.

¹⁰² tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something and has been translated here with a verb (so also throughout the chapter).

¹⁰³ tn Heb “Look I am about to give you for a possession to.”

¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “the sons of Ammon.”

¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “with all your scorn in (the) soul.”

¹⁰⁷ tc The translation here follows the marginal reading (Qere) of the Hebrew text. The consonantal text (Kethib) is meaningless.

¹⁰⁸ sn Moab was located immediately south of Ammon.

¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “shoulder.”

¹¹⁰ tn Heb “from the cities.” The verb “eliminating” has been added in the translation to reflect the privative use of the preposition (see BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b).

¹¹¹ tn Heb “from its cities, from its end.”

¹¹² tn Heb “I will give it for a possession.”

¹¹³ tn Heb “the sons of Ammon” (twice in this verse).

¹¹⁴ tn Heb “the sons.”

¹¹⁵ sn Edom was located south of Moab.

¹¹⁶ tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.

¹¹⁷ tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”

¹¹⁸ sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 5:21, 23; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).

¹¹⁹ tn Heb “and I will cut off from her man and beast.”

¹²⁰ tn Heb “fall.”

¹²¹ tn Heb “know.”

¹²² sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.

¹²³ tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.

¹²⁴ tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”

¹²⁵ tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.

¹²⁶ tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.

¹²⁷ tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.

¹²⁸ sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.

¹²⁹ tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”

¹³⁰ sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

¹³¹ tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

¹³² tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

¹³³ tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”

sn My feet almost slid out from under me. The language is metaphorical. As the following context makes clear, the psalmist almost “slipped” in a spiritual sense. As he began to question God’s justice, the psalmist came close to abandoning his faith.

¹³⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form here depicts the action as continuing in a past time frame.

¹³⁵ tn Heb “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).

¹³⁶ tn In Isa 58:6, the only other occurrence of this word in the OT, the term refers to “bonds” or “ropes.” In Ps 73:4 it is used metaphorically of pain and suffering that restricts one’s enjoyment of life.

¹³⁷ tn Or “bellies.”

¹³⁸ tc Or “fat.” The MT of v. 4 reads as follows: “for there are no pains at their death, and fat [is] their body.” Since a reference to the death of the wicked seems incongruous in the immediate context (note v. 5) and premature in the argument of the psalm (see vv. 18-20, 27), some prefer to emend the text by redividing it. The term לְמוֹתָם (lÿmotam,“at their death”) is changed to לָמוֹ תָּם (lamo tam, “[there are no pains] to them, strong [and fat are their bodies]”). The term תָּם (tam, “complete; sound”) is used of physical beauty in Song 5:2; 6:9. This emendation is the basis for the present translation. However, in defense of the MT (the traditional Hebrew text), one may point to an Aramaic inscription from Nerab which views a painful death as a curse and a nonpainful death in one’s old age as a sign of divine favor. See ANET 661.

¹³⁹ tn Heb “in the trouble of man they are not, and with mankind they are not afflicted.”

¹⁴⁰ sn Arrogance is their necklace. The metaphor suggests that their arrogance is something the wicked “wear” proudly. It draws attention to them, just as a beautiful necklace does to its owner.

¹⁴¹ tn Heb “a garment of violence covers them.” The metaphor suggests that violence is habitual for the wicked. They “wear” it like clothing; when one looks at them, violence is what one sees.

¹⁴² tc The MT reads “it goes out from fatness their eye,” which might be paraphrased, “their eye protrudes [or “bulges”] because of fatness.” This in turn might refer to their greed; their eyes “bug out” when they see rich food or produce (the noun חֵלֶב [khelev, “fatness”] sometimes refers to such food or produce). However, when used with the verb יָצָא (yatsa’, “go out”) the preposition מִן (“from”) more naturally indicates source. For this reason it is preferable to emend עֵינֵמוֹ (’enemo, “their eye”) to עֲוֹנָמוֹ, (’avonamo, “their sin”) and read, “and their sin proceeds forth from fatness,” that is, their prosperity gives rise to their sinful attitudes. If one follows this textual reading, another interpretive option is to take חֵלֶב (“fatness”) in the sense of “unreceptive, insensitive” (see its use in Ps 17:10). In this case, the sin of the wicked proceeds forth from their spiritual insensitivity.

¹⁴³ tn Heb “the thoughts of [their] heart [i.e., mind] cross over” (i.e., violate God’s moral boundary, see Ps 17:3).

¹⁴⁴ tn The verb מוּק (muq, “mock”) occurs only here in the OT.

¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “and speak with evil.”

¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “oppression from an elevated place they speak.” The traditional accentuation of the MT places “oppression” with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate, “they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an elevated place [i.e., “proudly”] they speak.” By placing “oppression” with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in the parallelism.

¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.

¹⁴⁸ tc Heb “therefore his people return [so Qere (marginal reading); Kethib (consonantal text) has “he brings back”] to here, and waters of abundance are sucked up by them.” The traditional Hebrew text (MT) defies explanation. The present translation reflects M. Dahood’s proposed emendations (Psalms [AB], 2:190) and reads the Hebrew text as follows: לָכֵן יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם וּמֵי מָלֵא יָמֹצּוּ לָמוֹ (“therefore they are filled with food, and waters of abundance they suck up for themselves”). The reading יִשְׂבְעוּם לֶחֶם (yisvÿ’um lekhem, “they are filled with food”) assumes (1) an emendation of יָשׁיּב עַמּוֹ (yashyyv, “he will bring back his people”) to יִשְׂבְעוּם (yisvÿ’um, “they will be filled”; a Qal imperfect third masculine plural form from שָׂבַע [sava’] with enclitic mem [ם]), and (2) an emendation of הֲלֹם (halom, “to here”) to לֶחֶם (“food”). The expression “be filled/fill with food” appears elsewhere at least ten times (see Ps 132:15, for example). In the second line the Niphal form יִמָּצוּ (yimmatsu, derived from מָצָה, matsah, “drain”) is emended to a Qal form יָמֹצּוּ (yamotsu), derived from מָצַץ (matsats, “to suck”). In Isa 66:11 the verbs שָׂבַע (sava’; proposed in Ps 73:10a) and מָצַץ (proposed in Ps 73:10b) are parallel. The point of the emended text is this: Because they are seemingly sovereign (v. 9), they become greedy and grab up everything they need and more.

¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “How does God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High?” They appear to be practical atheists, who acknowledge God’s existence and sovereignty in theory, but deny his involvement in the world (see Pss 10:4, 11; 14:1).

¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “Look, these [are] the wicked.”

¹⁵¹ tn Heb “the ones who are always at ease [who] increase wealth.”

¹⁵² tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.

¹⁵³ tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.

¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.

¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “If I had said, ‘I will speak out like this.’”

¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “look, the generation of your sons I would have betrayed.” The phrase “generation of your [i.e., God’s] sons” occurs only here in the OT. Some equate the phrase with “generation of the godly” (Ps 14:5), “generation of the ones seeking him” (Ps 24:6), and “generation of the upright” (Ps 112:2). In Deut 14:1 the Israelites are referred to as God’s “sons.” Perhaps the psalmist refers here to those who are “Israelites” in the true sense because of their loyalty to God (note the juxtaposition of “Israel” with “the pure in heart” in v. 1).

¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “and [when] I pondered to understand this, troubling it [was] in my eyes.”

¹⁵⁸ tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).

¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.

¹⁶⁰ tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.

¹⁶¹ tn Heb “cause them to fall.”

¹⁶² tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”

¹⁶³ tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.

¹⁶⁴ sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.

¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.

¹⁶⁶ tn Or perhaps “when.”

¹⁶⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.

¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.

¹⁶⁹ tn Or “brutish, stupid.”

¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “and I was not knowing.”

¹⁷¹ tn Heb “an animal I was with you.”

¹⁷² tn The imperfect verbal form here suggests this is the psalmist’s ongoing experience.

¹⁷³ tn Heb “and afterward [to] glory you will take me.” Some interpreters view this as the psalmist’s confidence in an afterlife in God’s presence and understand כָּבוֹד (cavod) as a metonymic reference to God’s presence in heaven. But this seems unlikely in the present context. The psalmist anticipates a time of vindication, when the wicked are destroyed and he is honored by God for his godly life style. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “take”) here carries the nuance “lead, guide, conduct,” as in Num 23:14, 27-28; Josh 24:3 and Prov 24:11.

¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.

¹⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).

¹⁷⁶ tn Or “forever.”

¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

¹⁷⁸ tn Or “for.”

¹⁷⁹ sn The following line defines the phrase far from you in a spiritual sense. Those “far” from God are those who are unfaithful and disloyal to him.

¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “everyone who commits adultery from you.”

¹⁸¹ tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”

¹⁸² tn The infinitive construct with -לְ (lÿ) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).