Psalms 34:9

34:9 Remain loyal to ¹  the Lord, you chosen people of his, ² 

for his loyal followers ³  lack nothing!

Psalms 35:22

35:22 But you take notice, ⁴  Lord!

O Lord, do not remain far away from me!

Psalms 38:21

38:21 Do not abandon me, O Lord!

My God, do not remain far away from me!

Psalms 71:12

71:12 O God, do not remain far away from me!

My God, hurry and help me! ⁵ 

Psalms 85:5

85:5 Will you stay mad at us forever?

Will you remain angry throughout future generations? ⁶ 

Psalms 89:37

89:37 it will remain stable, like the moon, ⁷ 

his throne will endure like the skies.” ⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 102:27

102:27 But you remain; ⁹ 

your years do not come to an end.

Psalms 119:144

119:144 Your rules remain just. ¹⁰ 

Give me insight so that I can live. ¹¹ 

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¹ tn Heb “fear.”

² tn Heb “O holy ones of his.”

³ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

⁴ tn Heb “you see, O Lord.” There is a deliberate play on words. In v. 21 the enemies say, “our eye sees,” but the psalmist is confident that the Lord “sees” as well, so he appeals to him for help (see also v. 17).

⁵ tn Heb “hurry to my help.”

⁶ tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”

⁷ tn Heb “like the moon it will be established forever.”

⁸ tn Heb “and a witness in the sky, secure.” Scholars have offered a variety of opinions as to the identity of the “witness” referred to here, none of which is very convincing. It is preferable to join וְעֵד (vÿ’ed) to עוֹלָם (’olam) in the preceding line and translate the commonly attested phrase עוֹלָם וְעֵד (“forever”). In this case one may translate the second line, “[it] will be secure like the skies.” Another option (the one reflected in the present translation) is to take עד as a rare noun meaning “throne” or “dais.” This noun is attested in Ugaritic; see, for example, CTA 16 vi 22-23, where ksi (= כִּסֵּא, kisse’, “throne”) and ’d (= עד, “dais”) appear as synonyms in the poetic parallelism (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). Emending בַּשַּׁחַק (bashakhaq, “in the heavens”) to כַּשַׁחַק (kashakhaq, “like the heavens”) – bet/kaf (כ/ב) confusion is widely attested – one can then read “[his] throne like the heavens [is] firm/stable.” Verse 29 refers to the enduring nature of the heavens, while Job 37:18 speaks of God spreading out the heavens (שְׁחָקִים, shÿkhaqim) and compares their strength to a bronze mirror. Ps 89:29 uses the term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim, “skies”) which frequently appears in parallelism to שְׁחָקִים.

⁹ tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the Lord’s affirmation “I am he” in Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:10; 48:12. In each of these passages the affirmation emphasizes the fact that the Lord transcends time limitations, the very point being made in Ps 102:27.

¹⁰ tn Heb “just are your rules forever.”

¹¹ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.