20:2 May he send you help from his temple; 1
from Zion may he give you support!
20:3 May he take notice 2 of your offerings;
may he accept 3 your burnt sacrifice! (Selah)
20:4 May he grant your heart’s desire; 4
may he bring all your plans to pass! 5
25:9 May he show 6 the humble what is right! 7
May he teach 8 the humble his way!
81:15 (May those who hate the Lord 9 cower in fear 10 before him!
May they be permanently humiliated!) 11
83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified! 12
May they die in shame! 13
90:16 May your servants see your work! 14
May their sons see your majesty! 15
109:11 May the creditor seize 16 all he owns!
May strangers loot his property! 17
109:12 May no one show him kindness! 18
May no one have compassion 19 on his fatherless children!
119:175 May I 20 live and praise you!
May your regulations help me! 21
121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!
May your protector 22 not sleep! 23
132:9 May your priests be clothed with integrity! 24
May your loyal followers shout for joy!
1 tc Heb “from [the] temple.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (ן, nun) has probably been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word begins with a prefixed vav (ו). See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 184.
2 tn Or “remember.” For other examples of the verb זָכַר (zakhar) carrying the nuance “take notice of,” see Pss 8:4 and 9:12.
3 tc Heb “consider as fat.” The verbal form should probably be emended to יְדַשְּׁנֶהָ (yÿdashÿneha), the final he (ה) being understood as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix referring back to the feminine noun “burnt sacrifice.”
4 tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.
5 sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.
6 tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.
7 tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.
8 tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).
9 tn “Those who hate the
10 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.
11 tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the
tn The verb form at the beginning of the line is jussive, indicating that this is a prayer. The translation assumes that v. 15 is a parenthetical “curse” offered by the psalmist. Having heard the reference to Israel’s enemies (v. 14), the psalmist inserts this prayer, reminding the Lord that they are God’s enemies as well.
12 tn Heb “and may they be terrified to perpetuity.” The Hebrew expression עֲדֵי־עַד (’adey-’ad, “to perpetuity”) can mean “forevermore” (see Pss 92:7; 132:12, 14), but here it may be used hyperbolically, for the psalmist asks that the experience of judgment might lead the nations to recognize (v. 18) and even to seek (v. 16) God.
13 tn Heb “may they be ashamed and perish.” The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling severe judgment down on his enemies. The strong language of the imprecation seems to run contrary to the positive outcome of divine judgment envisioned in v. 16b. Perhaps the language of v. 17 is overstated for effect. Another option is that v. 16b expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17-18 anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.
14 tn Heb “may your work be revealed to your servants.” In this context (note v. 17) the verb form יֵרָאֶה (yera’eh) is best understood as an unshortened jussive (see Gen 1:9; Isa 47:3).
15 tn Heb “and your majesty to their sons.” The verb “be revealed” is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
16 tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).
17 tn Heb “the product of his labor.”
18 tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”
19 tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).
20 tn Heb “my life.”
21 tn God’s regulations will “help” the psalmist by giving him moral and ethical guidance.
22 tn Heb “the one who guards you.”
23 tn The prefixed verbal forms following the negative particle אל appear to be jussives. As noted above, if they are taken as true jussives of prayer, then the speaker in v. 3 would appear to be distinct from both the speaker in vv. 1-2 and the speaker in vv. 4-8. However, according to GKC 322 §109.e), the jussives are used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one should probably translate, “he will not allow your foot to slip, your protector will not sleep,” and understand just one speaker in vv. 4-8.
24 tn Or “righteousness.”