7:17 I will thank the Lord for 1 his justice;
I will sing praises to the sovereign Lord! 2
33:5 The Lord promotes 3 equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth. 4
35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!
Do not let them gloat 5 over me!
35:28 Then I will tell others about your justice, 6
and praise you all day long. 7
45:6 Your throne, 8 O God, is permanent. 9
The scepter 10 of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
72:3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,
and the hills will announce justice. 11
89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. 12
Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. 13
89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long,
and are vindicated 14 by your justice.
94:15 For justice will prevail, 15
and all the morally upright 16 will be vindicated. 17
97:2 Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. 18
97:6 The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
103:6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed. 19
106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time!
111:7 His acts are characterized by 20 faithfulness and justice;
all his precepts are reliable. 21
119:43 Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony, 22
for I await your justice.
145:7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness, 23
and sing about your justice. 24
1 tn Heb “according to.”
2 tn Heb “[to] the name of the
3 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the
4 tn Heb “fills the earth.”
5 tn Heb “rejoice.”
6 tn Heb “and my tongue will proclaim your justice.”
7 tn Heb “all the day your praise.” The verb “proclaim” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the previous line).
8 sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.
9 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
17 tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”
18 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.
19 tn Heb “the
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
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.”