53:5 They are absolutely terrified, 1
even by things that do not normally cause fear. 2
For God annihilates 3 those who attack you. 4
You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them. 5
65:4 How blessed 6 is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts. 7
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house –
your holy palace. 8
73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. 9
I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter,
as 10 I declare all the things you have done.
78:4 we will not hide from their 11 descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, 12
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
A song of ascents, 14 by David.
131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look. 15
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me. 16
1 tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror (“absolutely”).
2 tn Heb “there is no fear.” Apparently this means the evildoers are so traumatized with panic (see v. 5b) that they now jump with fear at everything, even those things that would not normally cause fear. Ps 14:5 omits this line.
3 tn Heb “scatters the bones.” The perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. Scattering the bones alludes to the aftermath of a battle. God annihilates his enemies, leaving their carcasses spread all over the battlefield. As the bodies are devoured by wild animals and decay, the bones of God’s dead enemies are exposed. See Ps 141:7.
4 tn Heb “[those who] encamp [against] you.” The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to God’s people viewed as a collective whole. Instead of “for God scatters the bones of those who encamp against you,” Ps 14:5 reads, “for God is with a godly generation.”
5 tn Once again the perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. As in the previous line, God’s people are probably addressed. The second person singular verb form is apparently collective, suggesting that the people are viewed here as a unified whole. Ps 14:6 reads here “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame, even though God is his shelter,” the words being addressed to the wicked.
6 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
7 tn Heb “[whom] you bring near [so that] he might live [in] your courts.”
8 tn Or “temple.”
9 tn Heb “but as for me, the nearness of God for me [is] good.”
10 tn The infinitive construct with -לְ (lÿ) is understood here as indicating an attendant circumstance. Another option is to take it as indicating purpose (“so that I might declare”) or result (“with the result that I declare”).
11 tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).
12 tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the
13 sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.
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 “and my eyes are not lifted up.”
16 tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”