51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! 1
May the bones 2 you crushed rejoice! 3
69:23 May their eyes be blinded! 4
Make them shake violently! 5
69:24 Pour out your judgment 6 on them!
May your raging anger 7 overtake them!
90:16 May your servants see your work! 8
May their sons see your majesty! 9
105:3 Boast about his holy name!
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
A song of ascents, 11 by David.
122:1 I was glad because 12 they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
A song of ascents. 14
129:1 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
130:2 O Lord, listen to me! 15
Pay attention to 16 my plea for mercy!
1 tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.
2 sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.
3 tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.
4 tn Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”
5 tn Heb “make their hips shake continually.”
6 tn Heb “anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger.
7 tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971), 17-81.
8 tn Heb “may your work be revealed to your servants.” In this context (note v. 17) the verb form יֵרָאֶה (yera’eh) is best understood as an unshortened jussive (see Gen 1:9; Isa 47:3).
9 tn Heb “and your majesty to their sons.” The verb “be revealed” is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
10 sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.
11 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.
12 tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.
13 sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.
14 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.
15 tn Heb “my voice.”
16 tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”