Psalms 7:8

7:8 The Lord judges the nations. 1 

Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, 2 

because I am blameless, 3  O Exalted One! 4 

Psalms 26:1

Psalm 26 5 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, 6 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 7 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me 8  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me 9  from deceitful and evil men! 10 

1 sn The Lord judges the nations. In hyperbolic fashion the psalmist pictures the nations assembled around the divine throne (v. 7a). He urges God to take his rightful place on the throne (v. 7b) and then pictures him making judicial decisions that vindicate the innocent (see vv. 8-16).

2 tn Heb “judge me, O Lord, according to my innocence.”

3 tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.

4 tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.

5 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

6 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

7 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

8 tn Or “argue my case.”

9 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

10 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.