For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; 2 a psalm of David.
6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!
Do not discipline me in your raging fury! 3
For the music director, according to the gittith style; 5 a psalm of David.
8:1 O Lord, our Lord, 6
how magnificent 7 is your reputation 8 throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! 9
A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention. 11
38:1 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury! 12
59:16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;
I will praise your loyal love in the morning.
For you are my refuge 13
and my place of shelter when I face trouble. 14
71:18 Even when I am old and gray, 15
O God, do not abandon me,
until I tell the next generation about your strength,
and those coming after me about your power. 16
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 18 a psalm of Asaph; a song.
75:1 We give thanks to you, O God! We give thanks!
You reveal your presence; 19
people tell about your amazing deeds.
106:7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds,
they failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,
and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea. 20
1 sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.
2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
3 sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).
4 sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.
5 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.
6 tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the
7 tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”
8 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
9 tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.
10 sn Psalm 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him.
11 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).
12 tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.
sn Compare Ps 38:1 with Ps 6:1, which has similar wording.
13 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
14 tn Heb “and my shelter in the day of my distress.”
15 tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”
16 tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.
17 sn Psalm 75. The psalmist celebrates God’s just rule, which guarantees that the godly will be vindicated and the wicked destroyed.
18 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-59.
19 tn Heb “and near [is] your name.”
20 tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.
sn They rebelled. The psalmist recalls the people’s complaint recorded in Exod 14:12.