9:19 Rise up, Lord! 1
Don’t let men be defiant! 2
May the nations be judged in your presence!
11:6 May the Lord rain down 3 burning coals 4 and brimstone 5 on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve! 6
19:14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight, 7
O Lord, my sheltering rock 8 and my redeemer. 9
22:26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled! 10
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord!
May you 11 live forever!
24:3 Who is allowed to ascend 12 the mountain of the Lord? 13
Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?
40:11 O Lord, you do not withhold 14 your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me! 15
49:18 He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive:
“May men praise you, for you have done well!”
54:5 May those who wait to ambush me 16 be repaid for their evil! 17
As a demonstration of your faithfulness, 18 destroy them!
67:7 May God bless us! 19
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. 20
72:8 May he rule 21 from sea to sea, 22
and from the Euphrates River 23 to the ends of the earth!
72:19 His glorious name deserves praise 24 forevermore!
May his majestic splendor 25 fill the whole earth!
We agree! We agree! 26
73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, 27
but God always 28 protects my heart and gives me stability. 29
79:12 Pay back our neighbors in full! 30
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord! 31
80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, 32
to the one whom you raised up for yourself! 33
90:17 May our sovereign God extend his favor to us! 34
Make our endeavors successful!
Yes, make them successful! 35
91:7 Though a thousand may fall beside you,
and a multitude on your right side,
it 36 will not reach you.
92:7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and all the evildoers glisten, 37
it is so that they may be annihilated. 38
104:35 May sinners disappear 39 from the earth,
and the wicked vanish!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, 40
and cut off the memory of his children 41 from the earth!
109:19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, 42
or a belt 43 one wears continually!
122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you!”
128:5 May the Lord bless you 44 from Zion,
that you might see 45 Jerusalem 46 prosper
all the days of your life,
129:6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops
which withers before one can even pull it up, 47
140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –
may the harm done by 48 their lips overwhelm them!
1 sn Rise up,
2 tn Or “prevail.”
3 tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the
4 tc The MT reads “traps, fire, and brimstone,” but the image of God raining traps, or snares, down from the sky is bizarre and does not fit the fire and storm imagery of this verse. The noun פַּחִים (pakhim, “traps, snares”) should be emended to פַּחֲמֵי (pakhamey, “coals of [fire]”). The rare noun פֶּחָם (pekham, “coal”) occurs in Prov 26:21 and Isa 44:12; 54:16.
5 sn The image of God “raining down” brimstone on the objects of his judgment also appears in Gen 19:24 and Ezek 38:22.
6 tn Heb “[may] a wind of rage [be] the portion of their cup.” The precise meaning of the rare noun זִלְעָפוֹת (zil’afot) is uncertain. It may mean “raging heat” (BDB 273 s.v. זַלְעָפָה) or simply “rage” (HALOT 272 s.v. זַלְעָפָה). If one understands the former sense, then one might translate “hot wind” (cf. NEB, NRSV). The present translation assumes the latter nuance, “a wind of rage” (the genitive is attributive) referring to a “whirlwind” symbolic of destructive judgment. In this mixed metaphor, judgment is also compared to an allotted portion of a beverage poured into one’s drinking cup (see Hab 2:15-16).
7 tn Heb “may the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart be acceptable before you.” The prefixed verbal form at the beginning of the verse is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate the form as an imperfect continuing the thought of v. 14b: “[Then] the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart will be acceptable before you.”
8 tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
9 tn Heb “and the one who redeems me.” The metaphor casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis.
10 sn Eat and be filled. In addition to praising the Lord, the psalmist also offers a thank offering to the Lord and invites others to share in a communal meal.
11 tn Heb “may your heart[s].”
12 tn The imperfects in v. 3 are modal, expressing potential or permission.
13 sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).
14 tn Some (cf. NIV, NRSV) translate the verb as a request (“do not withhold”), but elsewhere in the psalms the second masculine singular prefixed form, when addressed to God and preceded by לֹא (lo’), is always indicative in mood and never has the force of a prayer (see Pss 16:10; 22:2; 44:9 51:16-17; 60:10; 108:11; cf. NEB, NASB).
15 tn In this line the psalmist makes the transition from confidence to petition (see v. 13). Since the prefixed verbal form in the preceding line is imperfect/indicative, one could take the verb in this line as imperfect as well and translate, “your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me” (cf. NEB). However, the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the next verse, if causal (“because”), is best understood as introducing a motivating argument in support of a petition. For this reason v. 11b is best taken as a prayer with the prefixed form being understood as jussive (cf. NIV, NRSV). For parallels to the proposed construction (jussive followed by כִּי + perfect introducing motivating argument), see Ps 25:21, as well as Pss 10:2-3; 22:8.
16 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
17 tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.
18 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
19 tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.
20 tn Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”
21 tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.
22 sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.
23 tn Heb “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates.
24 tn Heb “[be] blessed.”
25 tn Or “glory.”
26 tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response of agreement to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.
27 tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).
28 tn Or “forever.”
29 tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the
30 tn Heb “Return to our neighbors sevenfold into their lap.” The number seven is used rhetorically to express the thorough nature of the action. For other rhetorical/figurative uses of the Hebrew phrase שִׁבְעָתַיִם (shiv’atayim, “seven times”) see Gen 4:15, 24; Ps 12:6; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.
31 tn Heb “their reproach with which they reproached you, O Lord.”
32 tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)
33 tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.
34 tn Heb “and may the delight of the Master, our God, be on us.” The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am, “delight”) is used in Ps 27:4 of the
35 tn Heb “and the work of our hands establish over us, and the work of our hands, establish it.”
36 tn Apparently the deadly disease mentioned in v. 6b is the understood subject here.
37 tn Or “flourish.”
38 tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”
sn God allows the wicked to prosper temporarily so that he might reveal his justice. When the wicked are annihilated, God demonstrates that wickedness does not pay off.
39 tn Or “be destroyed.”
40 tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the
41 tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.
42 tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”
43 tn The Hebrew noun מֵזַח (mezakh, “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.
44 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the imperatives that are subordinated to this clause in vv. 5b-6a). Having described the blessings that typically come to the godly, the psalmist concludes by praying that this ideal may become reality for the representative godly man being addressed.
45 tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding jussive.
46 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
47 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁלַף (shalaf) normally means “to draw [a sword]” or “to pull.” BDB 1025 s.v. suggests the meaning “to shoot up” here, but it is more likely that the verb here means “to pluck; to pull up,” a nuance attested for this word in later Hebrew and Aramaic (see Jastrow 1587 s.v. שָׁלַף).
48 tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.