For the music director; a psalm of David.
21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; 2
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. 3
22:14 My strength drains away like water; 4
all my bones are dislocated;
my heart 5 is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; 6
like a moth you slowly devour their strength. 7
Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
40:12 For innumerable dangers 8 surround me.
My sins overtake me
so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head
so my strength fails me. 9
59:17 You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you! 10
For God is my refuge, 11 the God who loves me. 12
For the music director; according to the gittith style; 14 by Asaph.
81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!
Shout out to the God of Jacob!
84:5 How blessed are those who 15 find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple! 16
93:1 The Lord reigns!
He is robed in majesty,
the Lord is robed,
he wears strength around his waist. 18
Indeed, the world is established, it cannot be moved.
107:26 They 19 reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength 20 left them 21 because the danger was so great. 22
142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, 23
you watch my footsteps. 24
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 25
Do not reject me, 26
or I will join 27 those descending into the grave. 28
147:10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs. 29
1 sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.
2 tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).
3 tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”
4 tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”
5 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.
6 tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”
7 tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew
8 tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).
9 tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.
10 tn Heb “my strength, to you I will sing praises.”
11 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
12 tn Heb “the God of my loyal love.”
13 sn Psalm 81. The psalmist calls God’s people to assemble for a festival and then proclaims God’s message to them. The divine speech (vv. 6-16) recalls how God delivered the people from Egypt, reminds Israel of their rebellious past, expresses God’s desire for his people to obey him, and promises divine protection in exchange for obedience.
14 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument. See the superscription to Ps 8.
15 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here was certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to in v. 5a is representative of followers of God, as the use of plural forms in vv. 5b-7 indicates.
16 tn Heb “roads [are] in their heart[s].” The roads are here those that lead to Zion (see v. 7).
17 sn Psalm 93. The psalmist affirms that the
18 sn Strength is compared here to a belt that one wears for support. The Lord’s power undergirds his rule.
19 tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).
20 tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
21 tn Or “melted.”
22 tn Heb “from danger.”
23 tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”
24 tn Heb “you know my path.”
25 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
26 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
27 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
28 tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.
29 tn Heb “he does not desire the strength of the horse, he does not take delight in the legs of the man.” Here “the horse” refers to the war horse used by ancient Near Eastern chariot forces, and “the man” refers to the warrior whose muscular legs epitomize his strength.