A well-written song 2 by Asaph.
78:1 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction!
Listen to the words I speak! 3
81:2 Sing 4 a song and play the tambourine,
the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!
Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.
87:1 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills. 6
A song of ascents. 8
120:1 In my distress I cried out
to the Lord and he answered me.
A song of ascents, 10 by David.
124:1 “If the Lord had not been on our side” –
let Israel say this! –
A song of ascents. 12
126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, 13
we thought we were dreaming. 14
A song of ascents, 16 by David.
133:1 Look! How good and how pleasant it is
when brothers live together! 17
147:7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks! 18
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp!
149:1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Praise him in the assembly of the godly! 20
For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” 22 by the Korahites, a well-written poem, 23 a love song.
45:1 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. 24
I say, “I have composed this special song 25 for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” 26
1 sn Psalm 78. The author of this lengthy didactic psalm rehearses Israel’s history. He praises God for his power, goodness and patience, but also reminds his audience that sin angers God and prompts his judgment. In the conclusion to the psalm the author elevates Jerusalem as God’s chosen city and David as his chosen king.
2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 74.
3 tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”
4 tn Heb “lift up.”
5 sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.
6 tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the
7 sn Psalm 120. The genre and structure of this psalm are uncertain. It begins like a thanksgiving psalm, with a brief notice that God has heard the psalmist’s prayer for help and has intervened. But v. 2 is a petition for help, followed by a taunt directed toward enemies (vv. 3-4) and a lament (vv. 5-7). Perhaps vv. 2-7 recall the psalmist’s prayer when he cried out to the Lord.
8 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.
9 sn Psalm 124. Israel acknowledges that the Lord delivered them from certain disaster.
10 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.
11 sn Psalm 126. Recalling the joy of past deliverance, God’s covenant community asks for a fresh display of God’s power and confidently anticipate their sorrow being transformed into joy.
12 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.
13 tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew noun שִׁיבַת (shivat) occurs only here in the OT. For this reason many prefer to emend the form to the more common שְׁבִית (shevit) or שְׁבוּת (shÿvut), both of which are used as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv; see Ps 14:7). However an Aramaic cognate of שְׁבִית appears in an eighth century
14 tn Heb “we were like dreamers.” This could mean the speakers were so overcome with ecstatic joy (see v. 3b) that they were like those who fantasize about pleasurable experiences in their sleep (see Isa 29:7-8). Since dreams are more commonly associated in the OT with prophetic visions, the community may be comparing their experience of God’s renewed favor to a prophet’s receiving divine visions. Just as a prophetic dream sweeps the individual into a different dimension and sometimes brings one face-to-face with God himself (see Gen 28:11-15; 1 Kgs 3:5-15), so the community was aware of God’s presence in a special way in the day of Zion’s restoration. Though the MT as it stands makes good sense, some choose to understand a homonymic root here meaning “to be healthy; to be strong” (see BDB 321 s.v. I חָלַם) and translate, “we were like those restored to health.” This reading appears to have the support of several ancient translations as well as 11QPsa. See L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170-71) for a discussion of the viewpoints.
15 sn Psalm 133. The psalmist affirms the benefits of family unity.
16 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.
17 sn This statement refers to the extended family structure of ancient Israel, where brothers would often live in proximity to one another (Deut 25:5), giving the family greater social prominence and security. However, in its later application in the Israelite cult it probably envisions unity within the covenant community. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 212-15.
18 tn Heb “sing to the
19 sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.
20 tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”
21 sn Psalm 45. This is a romantic poem celebrating the Davidic king’s marriage to a lovely princess. The psalmist praises the king for his military prowess and commitment to justice, urges the bride to be loyal to the king, and anticipates that the marriage will be blessed with royal offspring.
22 tn Heb “according to lilies.” “Lilies” may be a tune title or musical style, suggestive of romantic love. The imagery of a “lily” appears frequently in the Song of Solomon in a variety of contexts (see 2:1-2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2).
23 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.
24 tn Heb “[with] a good word.” The “good word” probably refers here to the song that follows.
25 tn Heb “my works [are] for a king.” The plural “works” may here indicate degree, referring to the special musical composition that follows.
26 tn Heb “my tongue [is] a stylus of a skillful scribe.” Words flow from the psalmist’s tongue just as they do from a scribe’s stylus.