49:8 (the ransom price for a human life 1 is too high,
and people go to their final destiny), 2
49:15 But 3 God will rescue 4 my life 5 from the power 6 of Sheol;
certainly 7 he will pull me to safety. 8 (Selah)
86:13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me, 9
and will deliver my life 10 from the depths of Sheol. 11
86:14 O God, arrogant men attack me; 12
a gang 13 of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. 14
89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,
or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. 15 (Selah)
102:23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; 16
he has cut short my days.
103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, 17
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. 18
104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to deliver him from those who threaten 19 his life.
ב (Bet)
119:9 How can a young person 20 maintain a pure life? 21
By guarding it according to your instructions! 22
128:5 May the Lord bless you 23 from Zion,
that you might see 24 Jerusalem 25 prosper
all the days of your life,
146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;
on that day their plans die. 26
1 tn Heb “their life.” Some emend the text to “his life,” understanding the antecedent of the pronoun as “brother” in v. 7. However, the man and brother of v. 7 are representative of the human race in general, perhaps explaining why a plural pronoun appears in v. 8. Of course, the plural pronoun could refer back to “the rich” mentioned in v. 6. Another option (the one assumed in the translation) is that the suffixed mem is enclitic. In this case the “ransom price for human life” is referred to an abstract, general way.
2 tn Heb “and one ceases forever.” The translation assumes an indefinite subject which in turn is representative of the entire human race (“one,” that refers to human beings without exception). The verb חָדַל (khadal, “cease”) is understood in the sense of “come to an end; fail” (i.e., die). Another option is to translate, “and one ceases/refrains forever.” In this case the idea is that the living, convinced of the reality of human mortality, give up all hope of “buying off” God and refrain from trying to do so.
3 tn Or “certainly.”
4 tn Or “redeem.”
5 tn Or “me.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
6 tn Heb “hand.”
7 tn Or “for.”
8 tn Heb “he will take me.” To improve the poetic balance of the verse, some move the words “from the power of Sheol” to the following line. The verse would then read: “But God will rescue my life; / from the power of Sheol he will certainly deliver me” (cf. NEB).
sn According to some, the psalmist here anticipates the resurrection (or at least an afterlife in God’s presence). But it is more likely that the psalmist here expresses his hope that God will rescue him from premature death at the hands of the rich oppressors denounced in the psalm. The psalmist is well aware that all (the wise and foolish) die (see vv. 7-12), but he is confident God will lead him safely through the present “times of trouble” (v. 5) and sweep the wicked away to their final destiny. The theme is a common one in the so-called wisdom psalms (see Pss 1, 34, 37, 112). For a fuller discussion of the psalmists’ view of the afterlife, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “A Theology of the Psalms,” A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, 284-88.
9 tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”
10 tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.
11 tn Or “lower Sheol.”
12 tn Heb “rise up against me.”
13 tn Or “assembly.”
14 tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.
15 tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”
16 tn Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b-24).
17 tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).
18 sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.
19 tn Heb “judge.”
20 tn Heb “young man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender specific “young man” has been translated with the more neutral “young person.”
21 tn Heb “purify his path.”
22 tn Heb “by keeping according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew
23 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.
24 tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding jussive.
25 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
26 tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.