46:2 For this reason we do not fear 1 when the earth shakes, 2
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, 3
66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place. 4
74:8 They say to themselves, 5
“We will oppress all of them.” 6
They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land. 7
79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! 8
Quickly send your compassion our way, 9
for we are in serious trouble! 10
90:14 Satisfy us in the morning 11 with your loyal love!
Then we will shout for joy and be happy 12 all our days!
90:15 Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us,
in proportion to the years we have experienced 13 trouble!
95:7 For he is our God;
we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep he owns. 14
Today, if only you would obey him! 15
106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!
Gather us from among the nations!
Then we will give thanks 16 to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds. 17
106:48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise, 18
in the future and forevermore. 19
Let all the people say, “We agree! 20 Praise the Lord!” 21
118:26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord 22 be blessed!
We will pronounce blessings on you 23 in the Lord’s temple. 24
A song of ascents, 26 by David.
122:1 I was glad because 27 they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
126:2 At that time we laughed loudly
and shouted for joy. 28
At that time the nations said, 29
“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”
129:8 Those who pass by will not say, 30
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
137:3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs; 31
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: 32
“Sing for us a song about Zion!” 33
1 tn The imperfect is taken in a generalizing sense (cf. NEB) because the situation described in vv. 2-3 is understood as symbolizing typical world conditions. In this case the imperfect draws attention to the typical nature of the response. The covenant community characteristically responds with confidence, not fear. Another option is to take the situation described as purely hypothetical. In this case one might translate, “We will not fear, even though the earth should shake” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
2 tn The Hiphil infinitival form is normally taken to mean “when [the earth] is altered,” being derived from מוּר (mur, “to change”). In this case the Hiphil would be intransitive, as in Ps 15:4. HALOT 560 s.v. II מור emends the form to a Niphal and derives it from a homonymic root מוּר attested in Arabic with the meaning “shake.”
3 tn Heb “heart of the seas.” The plural may be used for emphasis, pointing to the deepest sea. Note that the next verse uses a singular pronoun (“its waters,” “its swelling”) in referring back to the plural noun.
4 tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (“saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).
5 tn Heb “in their heart.”
6 tc Heb “[?] altogether.” The Hebrew form נִינָם (ninam) is problematic. It could be understood as the noun נִין (nin, “offspring”) but the statement “their offspring altogether” would make no sense here. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:159) emends יָחַד (yakhad, “altogether”) to יָחִיד (yakhid, “alone”) and translate “let their offspring be solitary” (i.e., exiled). Another option is to understand the form as a Qal imperfect first common plural from יָנָה (yanah, “to oppress”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix, “we will oppress them.” However, this verb, when used in the finite form, always appears in the Hiphil. Therefore, it is preferable to emend the form to the Hiphil נוֹנֵם (nonem, “we will oppress them”).
7 tn Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”
8 tn Heb “do not remember against us sins, former.” Some understand “former” as an attributive adjective modifying sins, “former [i.e., chronologically prior] sins” (see BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). The present translation assumes that ראשׁנים (“former”) here refers to those who lived formerly, that is, the people’s ancestors (see Lam 5:7). The word is used in this way in Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14 and Eccl 1:11.
9 tn Heb “may your compassion quickly confront us.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating a tone of prayer.
10 tn Heb “for we are very low.”
11 sn Morning is used metaphorically for a time of renewed joy after affliction (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 49:14; 59:16; 143:8).
12 tn After the imperative (see the preceding line) the cohortatives with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose/result.
13 tn Heb “have seen.”
14 tn Heb “of his hand.”
15 tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
16 tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.
17 tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”
18 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.
19 tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.”
20 tn Heb “surely” (אָמֵן, ’amen), traditionally transliterated “amen.”
21 sn The final verse (v. 48) is a conclusion to this fourth “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and third “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52, respectively).
22 sn The people refer here to the psalmist, who enters the
23 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural, but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note the mem [מ] at the beginning of the following form) or enclitic, in which case the suffix may be taken as second masculine singular, referring to the psalmist.
24 tn Heb “from the house of the
25 sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.
26 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
27 tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.
28 tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”
29 tn Heb “they said among the nations.”
30 tn The perfect verbal form is used for rhetorical effect; it describes an anticipated development as if it were already reality.
31 tn Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”
32 tn Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 236.
33 tn Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.