By David.
28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!
My protector, 2 do not ignore me! 3
If you do not respond to me, 4
I will join 5 those who are descending into the grave. 6
31:19 How great is your favor, 7
which you store up for your loyal followers! 8
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter 9 in you. 10
40:12 For innumerable dangers 11 surround me.
My sins overtake me
so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head
so my strength fails me. 12
68:16 Why do you look with envy, 13 O mountains 14 with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided to live? 15
Indeed 16 the Lord will live there 17 permanently!
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 19 a psalm of Asaph; a song.
75:1 We give thanks to you, O God! We give thanks!
You reveal your presence; 20
people tell about your amazing deeds.
84:3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow 21 builds a nest,
where she can protect her young 22
near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,
my king and my God.
1 sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.
2 tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.
3 tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”
4 tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”
5 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
6 tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.
7 tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”
8 tn Heb “for those who fear you.”
9 tn “Taking shelter” in the
10 tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”
11 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).
12 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.
13 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).
14 tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.
15 tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.
16 tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.
17 tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
18 sn Psalm 75. The psalmist celebrates God’s just rule, which guarantees that the godly will be vindicated and the wicked destroyed.
19 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-59.
20 tn Heb “and near [is] your name.”
21 tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.
22 tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”
sn The psalmist here romanticizes the temple as a place of refuge and safety. As he thinks of the birds nesting near its roof, he envisions them finding protection in God’s presence.