33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
50:4 He summons the heavens above,
as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. 1
60:4 You have given your loyal followers 2 a rallying flag,
so that they might seek safety from the bow. 3 (Selah)
107:7 He led them on a level road, 4
that they might find a city in which to live.
ה (He)
119:33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes, 5
so that I might observe it continually. 6
119:34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,
and keep it with all my heart. 7
י (Yod)
119:73 Your hands made me and formed me. 8
Give me understanding so that I might learn 9 your commands.
128:5 May the Lord bless you 10 from Zion,
that you might see 11 Jerusalem 12 prosper
all the days of your life,
1 tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”
sn The personified heavens and earth (see v. 1 as well) are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people (see Isa 1:2). Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).
2 tn Heb “those who fear you.”
3 tn There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” (HALOT 681 s.v. נוס) or “take flight for oneself” (BDB 630-31 s.v. נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” (BDB 651 s.v. II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” (HALOT 704 s.v. II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; BDB 905-6 s.v. קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qosht, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. NASB). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”
4 sn A level road. See Jer 31:9.
5 tn Heb “the way of your statutes.”
6 tn Heb “and I will keep it to the end.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative. The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (’eqev) is understood to mean “end” here. Another option is to take עֵקֶב (’eqev) as meaning “reward” here (see Ps 19:11) and to translate, “so that I might observe it and be rewarded.”
7 tn The two prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the introductory imperative.
8 tn Heb “made me and established me.” The two verbs also appear together in Deut 32:6, where God, compared to a father, is said to have “made and established” Israel.
9 tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
10 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the imperatives that are subordinated to this clause in vv. 5b-6a). Having described the blessings that typically come to the godly, the psalmist concludes by praying that this ideal may become reality for the representative godly man being addressed.
11 tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding jussive.
12 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.