89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, 1 O Lord, 2
the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? 3
119:123 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your deliverance, 4
for your reliable promise to be fulfilled. 5
139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency 6 in me,
and lead me in the reliable ancient path! 7
1 sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.
2 tc Many medieval Hebrew
3 tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”
4 tn Heb “my eyes fail for your deliverance.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See the similar phrase in v. 82.
5 tn Heb “and for the word of your faithfulness.”
6 tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.
7 tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the