Psalms 18:21

18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;

I have not rebelled against my God.

Psalms 26:11

26:11 But I have integrity!

Rescue me and have mercy on me!

Psalms 44:18

44:18 We have not been unfaithful,

nor have we disobeyed your commands.

Psalms 60:3

60:3 You have made your people experience hard times;

you have made us drink intoxicating wine.

Psalms 78:3

78:3 What we have heard and learned

that which our ancestors 10  have told us –

Psalms 80:5

80:5 You have given them tears as food; 11 

you have made them drink tears by the measure. 12 

Psalms 89:20

89:20 I have discovered David, my servant.

With my holy oil I have anointed him as king. 13 

Psalms 89:39-40

89:39 You have repudiated 14  your covenant with your servant; 15 

you have thrown his crown to the ground. 16 

89:40 You have broken down all his 17  walls;

you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.

Psalms 89:44-45

89:44 You have brought to an end his splendor, 18 

and have knocked 19  his throne to the ground.

89:45 You have cut short his youth, 20 

and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

Psalms 124:4

124:4 The water would have overpowered us;

the current 21  would have overwhelmed 22  us. 23 

Psalms 129:2

129:2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,

but they have not defeated me.


tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the Lord.” The phrase “ways of the Lord” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical; the idea is, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”

tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.

tn Or “redeem me.”

tn Heb “our heart did not turn backward.” Cf. Ps 78:57.

tn Heb “and our steps did [not] turn aside from your path.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line). God’s “path” refers to his commands, i.e., the moral pathway he has prescribed for the psalmist. See Pss 17:5; 25:4.

tn Heb “you have caused your people to see [what is] hard.”

tn Heb “wine of staggering,” that is, intoxicating wine that makes one stagger in drunkenness. Intoxicating wine is here an image of divine judgment that makes its victims stagger like drunkards. See Isa 51:17-23.

tn Or “known.”

10 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).

11 tn Heb “you have fed them the food of tears.”

12 tn Heb “[by] the third part [of a measure].” The Hebrew term שָׁלִישׁ (shalish, “third part [of a measure]”) occurs only here and in Isa 40:12.

13 tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.

14 tn The Hebrew verb appears only here and in Lam 2:7.

15 tn Heb “the covenant of your servant.”

16 tn Heb “you dishonor [or “desecrate”] on the ground his crown.”

17 tn The king here represents the land and cities over which he rules.

18 tc The Hebrew text appears to read, “you have brought to an end from his splendor,” but the form מִטְּהָרוֹ (mittÿharo) should be slightly emended (the daghesh should be removed from the tet [ת]) and read simply “his splendor” (the initial mem [מ] is not the preposition, but a nominal prefix).

19 tn The Hebrew verb מָגַר (magar) occurs only here and perhaps in Ezek 21:17.

20 tn Heb “the days of his youth” (see as well Job 33:25).

21 tn Or “stream.”

22 tn Heb “would have passed over.”

23 tn Heb “our being.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).