2:6 “I myself 1 have installed 2 my king
on Zion, my holy hill.”
6:7 My eyes 3 grow dim 4 from suffering;
they grow weak 5 because of all my enemies. 6
6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;
the Lord has accepted 7 my prayer.
16:9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy; 8
My life is safe. 9
18:20 The Lord repaid 10 me for my godly deeds; 11
he rewarded 12 my blameless behavior. 13
18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; 14
he took notice of my blameless behavior. 15
18:28 Indeed, 16 you are my lamp, Lord. 17
My God 18 illuminates the darkness around me. 19
18:34 He trains my hands for battle; 20
my arms can bend even the strongest bow. 21
22:17 I can count 22 all my bones;
my enemies 23 are gloating over me in triumph. 24
22:18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice 25 for my garments.
30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. 26
35:23 Rouse yourself, wake up 27 and vindicate me! 28
My God and Lord, defend my just cause! 29
38:5 My wounds 30 are infected and starting to smell, 31
because of my foolish sins. 32
38:9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire; 33
my groaning is not hidden from you.
38:10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me;
I can hardly see. 34
38:18 Yes, 35 I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
40:8 I want to do what pleases you, 36 my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.” 37
44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and I do not prevail by my sword.
51:3 For I am aware of 38 my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin. 39
51:9 Hide your face 40 from my sins!
Wipe away 41 all my guilt!
56:6 They stalk 42 and lurk; 43
they watch my every step, 44
as 45 they prepare to take my life. 46
59:9 You are my source of strength! I will wait for you! 47
For God is my refuge. 48
60:7 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh! 49
Ephraim is my helmet, 50
Judah my royal scepter. 51
62:2 He alone is my protector 52 and deliverer.
He is my refuge; 53 I will not be upended. 54
62:6 He alone is my protector 55 and deliverer.
He is my refuge; 56 I will not be upended. 57
62:7 God delivers me and exalts me;
God is my strong protector and my shelter. 58
63:5 As if with choice meat 59 you satisfy my soul. 60
My mouth joyfully praises you, 61
69:5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins; 62
my guilt is not hidden from you. 63
71:9 Do not reject me in my old age! 64
When my strength fails, do not abandon me!
73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my feet almost slid out from under me. 65
73:21 Yes, 66 my spirit was bitter, 67
and my insides felt sharp pain. 68
81:13 If only my people would obey me! 69
If only Israel would keep my commands! 70
86:6 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for mercy!
88:2 Listen to my prayer! 71
Pay attention 72 to my cry for help!
89:20 I have discovered David, my servant.
With my holy oil I have anointed him as king. 73
89:21 My hand will support him, 74
and my arm will strengthen him.
89:24 He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love, 75
and by my name he will win victories. 76
89:28 I will always extend my loyal love to him,
and my covenant with him is secure. 77
89:31 if they break 78 my rules
and do not keep my commandments,
89:33 But I will not remove 79 my loyal love from him,
nor be unfaithful to my promise. 80
101:7 Deceitful people will not live in my palace. 81
Liars will not be welcome in my presence. 82
102:3 For my days go up in smoke, 83
and my bones are charred like a fireplace. 84
102:5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin. 85
102:9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread, 86
and mix my drink with my tears, 87
105:15 saying, 88 “Don’t touch my chosen 89 ones!
Don’t harm my prophets!”
108:8 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh! 90
Ephraim is my helmet, 91
Judah my royal scepter. 92
116:8 Yes, 93 Lord, 94 you rescued my life from death,
and kept my feet from stumbling.
119:69 Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies, 95
but I observe your precepts with all my heart.
119:114 You are my hiding place and my shield.
I find hope in your word.
132:3 He said, 96 “I will not enter my own home, 97
or get into my bed. 98
132:4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,
or my eyelids to slumber,
139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! 99
Test me, and know my concerns! 100
140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, 101
you shield 102 my head in the day of battle.
141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,
my uplifted hands like the evening offering! 103
141:3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth!
Protect the opening 104 of my lips! 105
142:2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about 106 my troubles.
1 tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”
2 tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”
3 tn The Hebrew text has the singular “eye” here.
4 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
5 tn Or perhaps, “grow old.”
6 sn In his weakened condition the psalmist is vulnerable to the taunts and threats of his enemies.
7 tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the
8 tn Heb “my glory is happy.” Some view the Hebrew term כְּבוֹדִי (kÿvodiy, “my glory”) as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 30:12; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”
9 tn Heb “yes, my flesh dwells securely.” The psalmist’s “flesh” stands by metonymy for his body and, by extension, his physical life.
10 tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
11 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the
12 tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.
13 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.
14 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”
15 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.
16 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki)is asseverative here.
17 tn Ps 18:28 reads literally, “you light my lamp,
18 tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “
19 tn Heb “my darkness.”
20 sn He trains my hands. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.
21 tn Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms”; or “my arms bend a bow of bronze.” The verb נָחַת (nakhat) apparently means “pull back, bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The third feminine singular verbal form appears to agree with the feminine singular noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”). In this case the verb must be taken as Niphal (passive). However, it is possible that “my arms” is the subject of the verb and “bow” the object. In this case the verb is Piel (active). For other examples of a feminine singular verb being construed with a plural noun, see GKC 464 §145.k.
sn The strongest bow (Heb “bow of bronze”) probably refers to a bow laminated with bronze strips, or to a purely ceremonial or decorative bow made entirely from bronze. In the latter case the language is hyperbolic, for such a weapon would not be functional in battle.
22 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 17-18 draw attention to the progressive nature of the action.
23 tn Heb “they.” The masculine form indicates the enemies are in view. The referent (the psalmist’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn Heb “they gaze, they look upon me.”
25 tn Heb “casting lots.” The precise way in which this would have been done is not certain.
26 sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.
27 sn Though he is confident that the Lord is aware of his situation (see v. 22a), the psalmist compares the Lord’s inactivity to sleep and urges him to wake up.
28 tn Heb “for my justice.”
29 tn Heb “for my cause.”
30 sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.
31 tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).
32 tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”
33 tn Heb “O Lord, before you [is] all my desire.”
34 tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).
35 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
36 tn Or “your will.”
37 tn Heb “your law [is] in the midst of my inner parts.” The “inner parts” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s thought life and moral decision making.
38 tn Heb “know.”
39 tn Heb “and my sin [is] in front of me continually.”
40 sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”
41 tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.
42 tn The verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 59:3.
43 tn Or “hide.”
44 tn Heb “my heels.”
45 tn Heb “according to,” in the sense of “inasmuch as; since,” or “when; while.”
46 tn Heb “they wait [for] my life.”
47 tc Heb “his strength, for you I will watch.” “His strength” should be emended to “my strength” (see v. 17). Some also emend אֶשְׁמֹרָה (’eshmorah, “I will watch”) to אֱזַמֵּרָה (’ezammerah, “I will sing praises [to you]”) See v. 17.
48 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
49 sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
50 tn Heb “the protection of my head.”
sn Ephraim, named after one of Joseph’s sons, was one of two major tribes located west of the Jordan. By comparing Ephraim to a helmet, the Lord suggests that the Ephraimites played a primary role in the defense of his land.
51 sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.
52 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
53 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
54 tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”
55 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
56 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
57 sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.
58 tn Heb “upon God [is] my deliverance and my glory, the high rocky summit of my strength, my shelter [is] in God.”
59 tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”
60 tn Or “me.”
61 tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”
62 tn Heb “you know my foolishness.”
63 sn The psalmist is the first to admit that he is not perfect. But even so, he is innocent of the allegations which his enemies bring against him (v. 5b). God, who is aware of his foolish sins and guilt, can testify to the truth of his claim.
64 tn Heb “do not cast me away at the time of old age.”
65 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.
66 tn Or perhaps “when.”
67 tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.
68 tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.
69 tn Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).
70 tn Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”
71 tn Heb “may my prayer come before you.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s desire or prayer.
72 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
73 tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.
74 tn Heb “with whom my hand will be firm.”
75 tn Heb “and my faithfulness and my loyal love [will be] with him.”
76 tn Heb “and by my name his horn will be lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 92:10; Lam 2:17).
77 tn Heb “forever I will keep for him my loyal love and will make my covenant secure for him.”
78 tn Or “desecrate.”
79 tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (’afir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (’asir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.
80 tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”
81 tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.”
82 tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”
83 tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
84 tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.
85 tn Heb “from the sound of my groaning my bone[s] stick to my flesh.” The preposition at the beginning of the verse is causal; the phrase “sound of my groaning” is metonymic for the anxiety that causes the groaning. The point seems to be this: Anxiety (which causes the psalmist to groan) keeps him from eating (v. 4). This physical deprivation in turn makes him emaciated – he is turned to “skin and bones,” so to speak.
86 sn Mourners would sometimes put ashes on their head or roll in ashes as a sign of mourning (see 2 Sam 13:19; Job 2:8; Isa 58:5).
87 tn Heb “weeping.”
88 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
89 tn Heb “anointed.”
90 tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
91 tn Heb “the protection of my head.”
sn Ephraim, one of Joseph’s sons, was one of two major tribes located west of the Jordan River. By comparing Ephraim to a helmet, the Lord suggests that the Ephraimites played a primary role in the defense of his land.
92 sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.
93 tn Or “for.”
94 tn “
95 tn Heb “smear over me a lie.”
96 tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows is David’s vow.
97 tn Heb “the tent of my house.”
98 tn Heb “go up upon the bed of my couch.”
99 tn Heb “and know my heart.”
100 tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.
101 tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”
102 tn Heb “cover.”
103 tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”
104 tn Heb “door.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
105 sn My mouth…my lips. The psalmist asks God to protect him from speaking inappropriately or sinfully.
106 tn Heb “my trouble before him I declare.”