4:3 Realize that 1 the Lord shows the godly special favor; 2
the Lord responds 3 when I cry out to him.
13:4 Then 4 my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”
Then 5 my foes will rejoice because I am upended.
20:9 The Lord will deliver the king; 6
he will answer us 7 when we call to him for help! 8
21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, 9
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. 10
22:27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him! 11
Let all the nations 12 worship you! 13
24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,
Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. 14 (Selah)
32:10 An evil person suffers much pain, 15
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him. 16
33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!
33:8 Let the whole earth fear 17 the Lord!
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, 18
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness 19
34:8 Taste 20 and see that the Lord is good!
How blessed 21 is the one 22 who takes shelter in him! 23
37:22 Surely 24 those favored by the Lord 25 will possess the land,
but those rejected 26 by him will be wiped out. 27
41:8 They say, 28
‘An awful disease 29 overwhelms him, 30
and now that he is bed-ridden he will never recover.’ 31
45:11 Then 32 the king will be attracted by 33 your beauty.
After all, he is your master! Submit 34 to him! 35
50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; 36
you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. 37
64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent 38 in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. 39
64:10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and take shelter in him.
All the morally upright 40 will boast. 41
66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; 42
they passed through the river on foot. 43
Let us rejoice in him there! 44
67:7 May God bless us! 45
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. 46
69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them!
69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him 47 will live in it. 48
74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; 49
you fed 50 him to the people who live along the coast. 51
77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” 52 (Selah)
89:7 a God who is honored 53 in the great angelic assembly, 54
and more awesome than 55 all who surround him?
89:27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn son, 56
the most exalted of the earth’s kings.
89:29 I will give him an eternal dynasty, 57
and make his throne as enduring as the skies above. 58
89:41 All who pass by 59 have robbed him;
he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors.
94:14 Certainly 60 the Lord does not forsake his people;
he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him. 61
95:2 Let’s enter his presence 62 with thanksgiving!
Let’s shout out to him in celebration! 63
97:7 All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him. 64
106:23 He threatened 65 to destroy them,
but 66 Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him 67
and turned back his destructive anger. 68
109:19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, 69
or a belt 70 one wears continually!
109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to deliver him from those who threaten 71 his life.
116:2 and listened to me. 72
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 73
130:5 I rely on 74 the Lord,
I rely on him with my whole being; 75
I wait for his assuring word. 76
140:11 A slanderer 77 will not endure on 78 the earth;
calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down. 79
149:1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Praise him in the assembly of the godly! 81
150:1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength! 83
1 tn Heb “and know that.”
2 tn Heb “that the
3 tn Heb “hears.”
4 tn Heb “or else.”
5 tn Heb “or else.”
6 tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi’ah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O
7 tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).
8 tn Heb “in the day we call.”
9 tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”
10 tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.
11 tn Heb “may all the ends of the earth remember and turn to the
12 tn Heb “families of the nations.”
13 tn Heb “before you.”
14 tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the
sn This verse presents a somewhat idealized view of Jacob’s descendants as devoted worshipers of the Lord.
15 tn Heb “many [are the] pains of evil [one].” The singular form is representative here; the typical evildoer, representative of the larger group of wicked people, is in view.
16 tn Heb “but the one who trusts in the
17 tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the
18 tn Heb “look, the eye of the
19 tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”
20 tn This verb is normally used of tasting or savoring food. The metaphor here appears to compare the
21 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
22 tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is 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 more neutral “one.”
23 tn “Taking shelter” in the
24 tn The particle כִּי is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.
25 tn Heb “those blessed by him.” The pronoun “him” must refer to the Lord (see vv. 20, 23), so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn Heb “cursed.”
27 tn Or “cut off”; or “removed” (see v. 9).
28 tn The words “they say” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to make it clear that v. 8 contains a quotation of what the psalmist’s enemies say about him (see v. 7a).
29 tn Heb “thing of worthlessness.” In Ps 101:3 the phrase refers to evil deeds in general, but here it appears to refer more specifically to the illness that plagues the psalmist.
30 tn Heb “is poured out on him.” The passive participle of יָצַק (yatsaq) is used.
31 tn Heb “and he who lies down will not again arise.”
32 tn After the preceding imperatives, the jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is best understood as introducing a purpose (“so that the king might desire your beauty”) or result clause (see the present translation and cf. also NASB). The point seems to be this: The bride might tend to be homesick, which in turn might cause her to mourn and diminish her attractiveness. She needs to overcome this temptation to unhappiness and enter into the marriage with joy. Then the king will be drawn to her natural beauty.
33 tn Or “desire.”
34 tn Or “bow down.”
35 sn Submit to him. The poet here makes the point that the young bride is obligated to bring pleasure to her new husband. Though a foreign concept to modern western culture, this was accepted as the cultural norm in the psalmist’s day.
36 tn Heb “you run with him.”
37 tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”
38 tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.
39 tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
40 tn Heb “upright in heart.”
41 tn That is, about the
42 sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).
43 tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).
44 tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).
45 tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.
46 tn Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”
47 tn Heb “the lovers of his name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to God (cf. v. 35). See Pss 5:11; 119:132; Isa 56:6.
48 sn Verses 35-36 appear to be an addition to the psalm from the time of the exile. The earlier lament reflects an individual’s situation, while these verses seem to reflect a communal application of it.
49 sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (’aqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.
50 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.
51 sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).
52 tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).
53 tn Heb “feared.”
54 tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”
55 tn Or perhaps “feared by.”
56 sn The firstborn son typically had special status and received special privileges.
57 tn Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”
58 tn Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”
59 tn Heb “all the passersby on the road.”
60 tn Or “for.”
61 tn Or “his inheritance.”
62 tn Heb “meet his face.”
63 tn Heb “with songs of joy.”
64 tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the
65 tn Heb “and he said.”
66 tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”
67 tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”
68 tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”
sn Verses 19-23 describe the events of Exod 32:1-35.
69 tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”
70 tn The Hebrew noun מֵזַח (mezakh, “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.
71 tn Heb “judge.”
72 tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”
73 tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”
74 tn Or “wait for.”
75 tn Heb “my soul waits.”
76 tn Heb “his word.”
77 tn Heb “a man of a tongue.”
78 tn Heb “be established in.”
79 tn Heb “for blows.” The Hebrew noun מַדְחֵפֹה (madkhefoh, “blow”) occurs only here in the OT.
80 sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.
81 tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”
82 sn Psalm 150. The Psalter concludes with a resounding call for praise from everything that has breath.
83 tn Heb “the sky of his strength.”