44:21 would not God discover it,
for he knows 1 one’s thoughts? 2
60:5 Deliver by your power 3 and answer me, 4
so that the ones you love may be safe. 5
72:2 Then he will judge 6 your people fairly,
and your oppressed ones 7 equitably.
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 8
He sent them more than enough to eat. 9
83:3 They carefully plot 10 against your people,
and make plans to harm 11 the ones you cherish. 12
97:12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord!
Give thanks to his holy name. 13
105:15 saying, 14 “Don’t touch my chosen 15 ones!
Don’t harm my prophets!”
105:43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy. 16
108:6 Deliver by your power 17 and answer me,
so that the ones you love may be safe. 18
127:4 Sons born during one’s youth
are like arrows in a warrior’s hand. 19
1 tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.
2 tn Heb “would not God search out this, for he knows the hidden things of [the] heart?” The expression “search out” is used metonymically here, referring to discovery, the intended effect of a search. The “heart” (i.e., mind) is here viewed as the seat of one’s thoughts. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he would!” The point seems to be this: There is no way the Israelites who are the speakers in the psalm would reject God and turn to another god, for the omniscient God would easily discover such a sin.
3 tn Heb “right hand.”
4 tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”
5 tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”
6 tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.
7 sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).
8 sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).
9 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
10 tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”
11 tn Heb “and consult together against.”
12 tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”
13 tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זָכַר (zakhar, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the
14 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Heb “anointed.”
16 tn Heb “and he led his people out with joy, with a ringing cry, his chosen ones.”
17 tn Heb “right hand.”
18 tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”
19 tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.