9:3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated 1 before you.
25:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone 2 and oppressed!
34:14 Turn away from evil and do what is right! 3
Strive for peace and promote it! 4
37:27 Turn away from evil! Do what is right! 5
Then you will enjoy lasting security. 6
39:13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy
before I pass away. 7
51:13 Then I will teach 8 rebels your merciful ways, 9
and sinners will turn 10 to you.
58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; 11
liars go astray as soon as they are born. 12
71:21 Raise me to a position of great honor! 13
Turn and comfort me! 14
80:18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you! 15
86:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me!
Give your servant your strength!
Deliver your slave! 16
89:43 You turn back 17 his sword from the adversary, 18
and have not sustained him in battle. 19
114:5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
119:37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless! 20
Revive me with your word! 21
119:79 May your loyal followers 22 turn to me,
those who know your rules.
119:102 I do not turn aside from your regulations,
for you teach me.
119:132 Turn toward me and extend mercy to me,
as you typically do to your loyal followers. 23
119:157 The enemies who chase me are numerous. 24
Yet I do not turn aside from your rules.
1 tn Or “perish”; or “die.” The imperfect verbal forms in this line either emphasize what typically happens or describe vividly the aftermath of a recent battle in which the
2 tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.
3 tn Or “do good.”
4 tn Heb “seek peace and pursue it.”
5 tn Or “Do good!” The imperatives are singular (see v. 1).
6 tn Heb “and dwell permanently.” The imperative with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause after the preceding imperatives.
7 tn Heb “Gaze away from me and I will smile before I go and am not.” The precise identification of the initial verb form (הָשַׁע, hasha’) is uncertain. It could be from the root שָׁעָע (sha’a’, “smear”), but “your eyes” would be the expected object in this case (see Isa 6:10). The verb may be an otherwise unattested Hiphil form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “to gaze”) meaning “cause your gaze to be.” Some prefer to emend the form to the Qal שְׁעֵה (shÿ’eh, “gaze”; see Job 14:6). If one does read a form of the verb “to gaze,” the angry divine “gaze” of discipline would seem to be in view (see vv. 10-11). For a similar expression of this sentiment see Job 10:20-21.
8 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.
9 tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).
10 tn Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.
11 tn Heb “from the womb.”
12 tn Heb “speakers of a lie go astray from the womb.”
13 tn Heb “increase my greatness.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer or wish. The psalmist’s request for “greatness” (or “honor”) is not a boastful, self-serving prayer for prominence, but, rather, a request that God would vindicate by elevating him over those who are trying to humiliate him.
14 tn The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.)
15 tn Heb “and in your name we will call.”
16 tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the
17 tn The perfect verbal form predominates in vv. 38-45. The use of the imperfect in this one instance may be for rhetorical effect. The psalmist briefly lapses into dramatic mode, describing the king’s military defeat as if it were happening before his very eyes.
18 tc Heb “you turn back, rocky summit, his sword.” The Hebrew term צוּר (tsur, “rocky summit”) makes no sense here, unless it is a divine title understood as vocative, “you turn back, O Rocky Summit, his sword.” Some emend the form to צֹר (tsor, “flint”) on the basis of Josh 5:2, which uses the phrase חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים (kharvot tsurim, “flint knives”). The noun צֹר (tsor, “flint”) can then be taken as “flint-like edge,” indicating the sharpness of the sword. Others emend the form to אָחוֹר (’akhor, “backward”) or to מִצַּר (mitsar, “from the adversary”). The present translation reflects the latter, assuming an original reading תָּשִׁיב מִצָּר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv mitsar kharbo), which was corrupted to תָּשִׁיב צָר חַרְבּוֹ (tashiv tsar kharbo) by virtual haplography (confusion of bet/mem is well-attested) with צָר (tsar, “adversary”) then being misinterpreted as צוּר in the later tradition.
19 tn Heb “and you have not caused him to stand in the battle.”
20 tn Heb “Make my eyes pass by from looking at what is worthless.”
21 tn Heb “by your word.”
22 tn Heb “those who fear you.”
23 tn Heb “according to custom toward the lovers of your name.” The “lovers of” God’s “name” are the
24 tn Heb “many [are] those who chase me and my enemies.”