Psalms 7:17

7:17 I will thank the Lord for his justice;

I will sing praises to the sovereign Lord!

Psalms 33:5

33:5 The Lord promotes equity and justice;

the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.

Psalms 35:24

35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!

Do not let them gloat over me!

Psalms 35:28

35:28 Then I will tell others about your justice,

and praise you all day long.

Psalms 45:6

45:6 Your throne, O God, is permanent.

The scepter 10  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

Psalms 72:3

72:3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,

and the hills will announce justice. 11 

Psalms 89:14

89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. 12 

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. 13 

Psalms 89:16

89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long,

and are vindicated 14  by your justice.

Psalms 94:15

94:15 For justice will prevail, 15 

and all the morally upright 16  will be vindicated. 17 

Psalms 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. 18 

Psalms 97:6

97:6 The sky declares his justice,

and all the nations see his splendor.

Psalms 103:6

103:6 The Lord does what is fair,

and executes justice for all the oppressed. 19 

Psalms 106:3

106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,

and do what is right all the time!

Psalms 111:7

111:7 His acts are characterized by 20  faithfulness and justice;

all his precepts are reliable. 21 

Psalms 119:43

119:43 Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony, 22 

for I await your justice.

Psalms 145:7

145:7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness, 23 

and sing about your justice. 24 


tn Heb “according to.”

tn Heb “[to] the name of the Lord Most High.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case the compound “Lord Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of equity and justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world.

tn Heb “fills the earth.”

tn Heb “rejoice.”

tn Heb “and my tongue will proclaim your justice.”

tn Heb “all the day your praise.” The verb “proclaim” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the previous line).

sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

tn Or “forever and ever.”

sn O God. The king is clearly the addressee here, as in vv. 2-5 and 7-9. Rather than taking the statement at face value, many prefer to emend the text because the concept of deifying the earthly king is foreign to ancient Israelite thinking (cf. NEB “your throne is like God’s throne, eternal”). However, it is preferable to retain the text and take this statement as another instance of the royal hyperbole that permeates the royal psalms. Because the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth, the psalmist addresses him as if he were God incarnate. God energizes the king for battle and accomplishes justice through him. A similar use of hyperbole appears in Isa 9:6, where the ideal Davidic king of the eschaton is given the title “Mighty God” (see the note on this phrase there). Ancient Near Eastern art and literature picture gods training kings for battle, bestowing special weapons, and intervening in battle. According to Egyptian propaganda, the Hittites described Rameses II as follows: “No man is he who is among us, It is Seth great-of-strength, Baal in person; Not deeds of man are these his doings, They are of one who is unique” (see Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:67). Ps 45:6 and Isa 9:6 probably envision a similar kind of response when friends and foes alike look at the Davidic king in full battle regalia. When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself.

10 sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

11 tn Heb “[the] mountains will bear peace to the people, and [the] hills with justice.” The personified mountains and hills probably represent messengers who will sweep over the land announcing the king’s just decrees and policies. See Isa 52:7 and C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:133.

12 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

13 tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).

14 tn Heb “are lifted up.”

15 tn Heb “for judgment will return to justice.”

16 tn Heb “all the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 97:11).

17 tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”

18 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

19 tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”

20 tn Heb “the deeds of his hands [are].”

21 tn That is, fair and for man’s good.

22 tn Heb “do not snatch from my mouth a word of truth to excess.” The psalmist wants to be able to give a reliable testimony about the Lord’s loyal love (vv. 41-42), but if God does not intervene, the psalmist will be deprived of doing so, for the evidence of such love (i.e., deliverance) will be lacking.

23 tn Heb “the fame of the greatness of your goodness.”

24 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 7 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they talk…and sing.”