Psalms 29:11

29:11 The Lord gives 1  his people strength; 2 

the Lord grants his people security. 3 

Psalms 37:23

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. 4 

Psalms 45:2

45:2 You are the most handsome of all men! 5 

You speak in an impressive and fitting manner! 6 

For this reason 7  God grants you continual blessings. 8 

Psalms 68:6

68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; 9 

he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. 10 

But sinful rebels live in the desert. 11 

1 tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 11 are either descriptive or generalizing.

2 sn Strength. This probably refers to military power; see the use of the noun in 1 Sam 2:10 and Ps 86:16.

3 tn Heb “blesses his people with peace.” The Hebrew term שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) probably refers here to the protection and prosperity experienced by God’s people after the Lord intervenes in battle on their behalf.

4 tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

5 tn Heb “you are handsome from the sons of man.” The preposition “from” is used in a comparative (“more than”) sense. The peculiar verb form יָפְיָפִיתָ (yafyafita) is probably the result of dittography of yod-pe (יפ) and should be emended to יָפִיתָ (yafita). See GKC 152 §55.e.

6 tn Heb “favor is poured out on your lips.” “Lips” probably stands by metonymy for the king’s speech. Some interpret the Hebrew term חֵן (khen) as referring here to “gracious (i.e., kind and polite) speech”, but the word probably refers more generally to “attractive” speech that is impressively articulated and fitting for the occasion. For other instances of the term being used of speech, see Prov 22:11 and Eccl 10:12.

7 tn Or “this demonstrates.” The construction עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken, “therefore”) usually indicates what logically follows from a preceding statement. However, here it may infer the cause from the effect, indicating the underlying basis or reason for what precedes (see BDB 487 s.v. I כֵּן 3.f; C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 1:386).

8 tn Or “blesses you forever.” Here “bless” means to “endue with the power and skill to rule effectively,” as the following verses indicate.

9 tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

10 tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.

11 tn Or “in a parched [land].”

sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.