Psalms 51:18

51:18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! ¹ 

Fortify ²  the walls of Jerusalem! ³ 

Psalms 75:4

75:4 ⁴ I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”

and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory! ⁵ 

Psalms 81:6

81:6 It said: ⁶  “I removed the burden from his shoulder;

his hands were released from holding the basket. ⁷ 

Psalms 85:4

85:4 Restore us, O God our deliverer!

Do not be displeased with us! ⁸ 

Psalms 90:4

90:4 Yes, ⁹  in your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday that quickly passes,

or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 119:154

119:154 Fight for me ¹¹  and defend me! ¹² 

Revive me with your word!

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¹ tn Heb “do what is good for Zion in your favor.”

² tn Or “Build.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ tn The identity of the speaker in vv. 4-6 is unclear. The present translation assumes that the psalmist, who also speaks in vv. 7-9 (where God/the Lord is spoken of in the third person) here addresses the proud and warns them of God’s judgment. The presence of כִּי (ki, “for”) at the beginning of both vv. 6-7 seems to indicate that vv. 4-9 are a unit. However, there is no formal indication of a new speaker in v. 4 (or in v. 10, where God appears to speak). Another option is to see God speaking in vv. 2-6 and v. 10 and to take only vv. 7-9 as the words of the psalmist. In this case one must interpret כִּי at the beginning of v. 7 in an asseverative or emphatic sense (“surely; indeed”).

⁵ tn Heb “do not lift up a horn.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Here the idiom seems to refer to an arrogant attitude that assumes victory has been achieved.

⁶ tn The words “It said” are not included in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁷ sn I removed the burden. The Lord speaks metaphorically of how he delivered his people from Egyptian bondage. The reference to a basket/burden probably alludes to the hard labor of the Israelites in Egypt, where they had to carry loads of bricks (see Exod 1:14).

⁸ tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).

⁹ tn Or “for.”

¹⁰ sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”

¹¹ tn Or “argue my case.”

¹² tn Heb “and redeem me.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).