¹ sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.

² tn Heb “turn your ear.”

³ tn Heb “my life.”

⁴ tn Or “show me favor.”

⁵ tn Heb “the soul of your servant.”

⁶ tn Heb “I lift up my soul.”

⁷ tn Or “for.”

⁸ tn Heb “good.”

⁹ tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”

¹⁰ tn Or “bow down before you.”

¹¹ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles he expects the psalmist to follow. See Pss 25:4; 27:11.

¹² tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The Lord’s commandments are referred to as “truth” here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. See Ps 25:5.

¹³ tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).

¹⁴ tn Or “forever.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”

¹⁶ tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.

¹⁷ tn Or “lower Sheol.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “rise up against me.”

¹⁹ tn Or “assembly.”

²⁰ tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.

²¹ tn Heb “slow to anger.”

²² tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”

sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.

²³ 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 Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

²⁴ tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

²⁵ tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

²⁶ tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).

²⁷ sn Psalm 101. The psalmist, who appears to be a king, promises to promote justice in his land and vows to rid his royal court of evildoers.

²⁸ tn Heb “take notice of.”

²⁹ tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”

³⁰ tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”

³¹ tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).

³² tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”

³³ tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted; crooked” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse (see Ps 18:26). It appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6).

³⁴ tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.

³⁵ tn Heb “[one who has] pride of eyes and wideness [i.e., arrogance] of heart, him I will not endure.”

³⁶ tn Heb “my eyes [are] on the faithful of the land.”

³⁷ tn The Hebrew text simply reads, “in order to live with me.”

³⁸ tn Heb “one who walks in the way of integrity, he will minister to me.”

³⁹ tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.”

⁴⁰ tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”

⁴¹ sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.

⁴² tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

⁴³ tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).

⁴⁴ tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).

⁴⁵ tn Or “redeems.”

⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24.

⁴⁷ tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

⁴⁸ sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.

⁴⁹ tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”

⁵⁰ tn Heb “made known his ways.” God’s “ways” in this context are his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 18:30; 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 138:5; 145:17).

⁵¹ tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).

⁵² tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).

⁵³ tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).

⁵⁴ tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”

⁵⁵ tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”

⁵⁶ tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

⁵⁷ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

⁵⁸ tn Heb “sunrise.”

⁵⁹ tn Or “sunset.”

⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.

⁶¹ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

⁶² tn Heb “those who fear him.”

⁶³ tn Heb “our form.”

⁶⁴ tn Heb “remembers.”

⁶⁵ tn Heb “we [are] clay.”

⁶⁶ tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.

⁶⁷ tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁶⁸ tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”

⁶⁹ tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”

⁷⁰ tn Heb “to those who remember his precepts to do them.”

⁷¹ tn Heb “his kingdom rules over all.”

⁷² tn Heb “[you] mighty ones of strength, doers of his word, by listening to the voice of his word.”

⁷³ tn Heb “all his hosts.”

⁷⁴ tn Heb “his attendants, doers of his desire.”

⁷⁵ tn Heb “all his works,” which includes mankind.

⁷⁶ tn Heb “places.”

⁷⁷ sn Psalm 108. With some minor variations, this psalm is a composite of Ps 57:7-11 (see vv. 1-5) and Ps 60:5-12 (see vv. 6-13).

⁷⁸ tn Or perhaps “confident”; Heb “my heart is steadfast.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and/or emotions.

⁷⁹ tn Heb “also my glory,” but this makes little sense in the context. Some view the term כָּבוֹד (“glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvodiy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 57:9; as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 3:93. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”

⁸⁰ tn BDB 1007 s.v. שַׁחַר takes “dawn” as an adverbial accusative, though others understand it as a personified direct object. “Dawn” is used metaphorically for the time of deliverance and vindication the psalmist anticipates. When salvation “dawns,” the psalmist will “wake up” in praise.

⁸¹ tn Or “the peoples.”

⁸² tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”

⁸³ tn Or “be exalted.”

⁸⁴ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

⁸⁵ tn Heb “right hand.”

⁸⁶ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

⁸⁷ tn Heb “in his holy place.”

⁸⁸ sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan River; the valley of Succoth represents the region east of the Jordan.

⁸⁹ tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

⁹⁰ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

sn Ephraim, one of Joseph’s sons, was one of two major tribes located west of the Jordan River. By comparing Ephraim to a helmet, the Lord suggests that the Ephraimites played a primary role in the defense of his land.

⁹¹ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

⁹² sn The metaphor of the wash basin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 7-8), would be reduced to the status of a servant.

⁹³ tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.

⁹⁴ sn The psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 9, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation of Israel (v. 11).

⁹⁵ tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”

⁹⁶ tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 118:16-16).

⁹⁷ sn On the expression trample down our enemies see Ps 44:5.

⁹⁸ sn Psalm 109. Appealing to God’s justice, the psalmist asks God to vindicate him and to bring severe judgment down upon his enemies.

⁹⁹ tn Heb “do not be deaf.”

¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”

¹⁰¹ tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”

¹⁰² tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

¹⁰³ tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”

¹⁰⁵ sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view – that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist – see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.

¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”

¹⁰⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).

¹⁰⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.

¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).

¹¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19.

¹¹¹ tn The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.

¹¹² tn Or “sons.”

¹¹³ tn Or “sons.”

¹¹⁴ tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vÿdoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yÿgoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.

¹¹⁵ tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).

¹¹⁶ tn Heb “the product of his labor.”

¹¹⁷ tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”

¹¹⁸ tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).

¹¹⁹ tn Or “offspring.”

¹²⁰ sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

¹²¹ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

¹²² tn Or “fathers’ sins.”

¹²³ tn Heb “not be wiped out.”

sn According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with Ps 109.)

¹²⁴ tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”

¹²⁵ 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.

¹²⁶ tn Heb “he did not remember to do loyal love.”

¹²⁷ tn Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”

¹²⁸ sn A curse in OT times consists of a formal appeal to God to bring judgment down upon another. Curses were sometimes justified (such as the one spoken by the psalmist here in vv. 6-19), but when they were not, the one pronouncing the curse was in danger of bringing the anticipated judgment down upon himself.

¹²⁹ tn Heb “and he loved a curse and it came [upon] him.” A reference to the evil man experiencing a curse seems premature here, for the psalmist is asking God to bring judgment on his enemies. For this reason some (cf. NIV, NRSV) prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” as conjunctive and translate the verb as a jussive of prayer (“may it come upon him!”). The prefixed form with vav consecutive in the next line is emended in the same way and translated, “may it be far from him.” However, the psalmist may be indicating that the evil man’s lifestyle has already begun to yield its destructive fruit.

¹³⁰ tn Heb “and he did not delight in a blessing and it is far from him.”

¹³¹ tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”

¹³² tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”

¹³³ tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”

¹³⁴ 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.

¹³⁵ tn Heb “[may] this [be] the repayment to my accusers from the Lord.”

¹³⁶ tn Or “against.”

¹³⁷ tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

¹³⁸ tn Heb “but you, Lord, Master, do with me for the sake of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

¹³⁹ tc The verb in the Hebrew text (חָלַל, khalal) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל (yakhil), a Qal imperfect from חוּל (khul, “tremble”) or to חֹלַל (kholal), a polal perfect from חוּל (khul). See Ps 55:4, which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי (libbiy yakhil bÿqirbbiy, “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).

¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.

¹⁴¹ tn Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”

¹⁴² tn Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”

¹⁴³ tn Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”

¹⁴⁴ sn They shake their heads. Apparently shaking the head was a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; Lam 2:15.

¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “deliver me according to your faithfulness.”

¹⁴⁶ tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “that your hand [is] this.”

¹⁴⁸ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).

¹⁴⁹ tn The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav (ו) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ (qamu yevoshu, “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.

¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “clothed.” Another option is to translate the prefixed verbal forms in this line and the next as jussives (“may my accusers be covered with shame”).

¹⁵¹ tn Heb “I will thank the Lord very much with my mouth.”

¹⁵² tn Heb “many.”

¹⁵³ tn Heb “judge.”

¹⁵⁴ sn Psalm 110. In this royal psalm the psalmist announces God’s oracle to the Davidic king. The first part of the oracle appears in v. 1, the second in v. 4. In vv. 2-3 the psalmist addresses the king, while in vv. 5-7 he appears to address God.

¹⁵⁵ tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.

¹⁵⁶ sn My lord. In the psalm’s original context the speaker is an unidentified prophetic voice in the royal court. In the course of time the psalm is applied to each successive king in the dynasty and ultimately to the ideal Davidic king. NT references to the psalm understand David to be speaking about his “lord,” the Messiah. (See Matt 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44; Acts 2:34-35).

¹⁵⁷ tn To sit at the “right hand” of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). In Ugaritic myth (CTA 4 v. 108-10) the artisan god Kothar-and Khasis is described as sitting at the right hand of the storm god Baal. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 61-62.

sn The Lord’s invitation to the Davidic king to sit down at his right hand reflects the king’s position as the Lord’s vice-regent.

¹⁵⁸ sn When the Lord made his covenant with David, he promised to subdue the king’s enemies (see 2 Sam 7:9-11; Ps 89:22-23).

¹⁵⁹ tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

¹⁶⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

¹⁶¹ tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

¹⁶² tn Heb “your people, free will offerings.” Perhaps the people, in their willingness to volunteer, are compared metaphorically to freewill offerings. Following the LXX, some revocalize the text and read “with you is nobility.”

¹⁶³ tn Heb “in the day of your power.”

¹⁶⁴ tc Heb “in splendor of holiness.” The plural construct form הַדְרֵי (hadrey, from הָדַר, hadar, “splendor”) occurs only here; it may indicate degree or perhaps refer by metonymy to garments (see Pss 29:2 and 96:9, where the phrase הַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ [hadrat qodesh] refers to “holy attire”). If one retains the reading of the MT, this phrase should probably be taken with the preceding line. However, because of the subsequent references to “dawn” and to “dew,” it is better to emend the text to הַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ (harrey qodesh, “mountains of holiness”), a reading found in many medieval Hebrew mss and in some other ancient witnesses (see Joel 2:2; Ps 133:3, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 80). The “mountains of holiness” are probably the hills surrounding Zion (see Ps 87:1; 125:2; 133:3).

¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “from the womb of dawn.” The Hebrew noun רֶחֶם (rekhem, “womb”) is probably used here metonymically for “birth.” The form מִשְׁחָר (mishkhar) occurs only here and should be emended to שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”) with the mem (מ) being understood as dittographic (note the final mem [ם] on the preceding word). The phrase “womb [i.e., “birth”] of dawn” refers to sunrise.

¹⁶⁶ sn The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. The dew may symbolize the king’s youthful vitality or, more likely (note the parallelism), may refer to his army of strong, youthful warriors.

¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “to you [is].”

¹⁶⁸ tn Or “swears, vows.”

¹⁶⁹ tn Or “will not change his mind.” The negated Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham) is a way of marking an announcement as an irrevocable decree. See 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14, as well as R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

¹⁷⁰ sn You are an eternal priest. The Davidic king exercised a non-Levitical priestly role. The king superintended Judah’s cultic ritual, had authority over the Levites, and sometimes led in formal worship. David himself instructed the Levites to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:11-15), joined the procession, offered sacrifices, wore a priestly ephod, and blessed the people (2 Sam 6:12-19). At the dedication of the temple Solomon led the ceremony, offering sacrifices and praying on behalf of the people (1 Kgs 8).

¹⁷¹ tn The phrase עַל־דִּבְרָתִי (’al-divratiy) is a variant of עַל־דִּבְרָת (’al-divrat; the final yod [י] being an archaic genitival ending), which in turn is a variant of עַל דָּבַר (’al davar). Both phrases can mean “concerning” or “because of,” but neither of these nuances fits the use of עַל־דִּבְרָתִי in Ps 110:4. Here the phrase probably carries the sense “according to the manner of.” See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 81.

¹⁷² sn The Davidic king’s priestly role is analogous to that of Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” (i.e., Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). Like Melchizedek, the Davidic king was a royal priest, distinct from the Aaronic line (see Heb 7). The analogy focuses on the king’s priestly role; the language need not imply that Melchizedek himself was “an eternal priest.”

¹⁷³ tn As pointed in the Hebrew text, this title refers to God (many medieval Hebrew mss read יְהוָה, yehveh, “Lord” here). The present translation assumes that the psalmist here addresses the Lord as he celebrates what the king is able to accomplish while positioned at God’s “right hand.” According to this view the king is the subject of the third person verb forms in vv. 5b-7. (2) Another option is to understand the king as the addressee (as in vv. 2-3). In this case “the Lord” is the subject of the third person verbs throughout vv. 5-7 and is depicted as a warrior in a very anthropomorphic manner. In this case the Lord is pictured as being at the psalmist’s right hand (just the opposite of v. 1). See Pss 16:8; 121:5. (3) A third option is to revocalize אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”) as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”; see v. 1). In this case one may translate, “My lord, at his [God’s] right hand, strikes down.” In this case the king is the subject of the third person verbs in vv. 5b-7.

¹⁷⁴ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 5-6 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing. Another option is to take them as rhetorical. In this case the psalmist describes anticipated events as if they had already taken place.

¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “in the day of his anger.”

¹⁷⁶ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 6-7 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though they could be taken as future.

¹⁷⁷ tn Or “among.”

¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “he fills [with] corpses,” but one expects a double accusative here. The translation assumes an emendation to גְוִיּוֹת גֵאָיוֹת(בִּ) מִלֵּא or מִלֵּא גֵאָיוֹת גְּוִיוֹת (for a similar construction see Ezek 32:5). In the former case גֵאָיוֹת(ge’ayot) has accidentally dropped from the text due to homoioteleuton; in the latter case it has dropped out due to homoioarcton.

¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “he strikes [the verb is מָחַץ (makhats), translated “strikes down” in v. 5] head[s] over a great land.” The Hebrew term רַבָּה (rabbah, “great”) is here used of distance or spatial measurement (see 1 Sam 26:13).

¹⁸⁰ tn Here the expression “lifts up the head” refers to the renewed physical strength and emotional vigor (see Ps 3:3) provided by the refreshing water. For another example of a victorious warrior being energized by water in the aftermath of battle, see Judg 15:18-19 (see also 1 Sam 30:11-12, where the setting is different, however).

¹⁸¹ sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.

¹⁸² 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.

¹⁸³ tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.

¹⁸⁴ tn Or “were.”

¹⁸⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

¹⁸⁶ tc Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubbÿrah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4-5).

¹⁸⁷ tn Or “went up.”

¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”

¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”

¹⁹⁰ tn Or “for.”

¹⁹¹ tn Or “sat.”

¹⁹² tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”

¹⁹³ tn Heb “ask [for].”

¹⁹⁴ tn Or “be secure.”

¹⁹⁵ tn or “security.”

¹⁹⁶ tn The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.

¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.

¹⁹⁸ sn Psalm 124. Israel acknowledges that the Lord delivered them from certain disaster.

¹⁹⁹ 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.

²⁰⁰ tn Heb “rose up against us.”

²⁰¹ tn Or “stream.”

²⁰² tn Heb “would have passed over.”

²⁰³ tn Heb “our being.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

²⁰⁴ tn Heb “then they would have passed over our being, the raging waters.”

²⁰⁵ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

²⁰⁶ tn Heb “[the one] who.”

²⁰⁷ tn Heb “our life escaped.”

²⁰⁸ tn Heb “our help [is] in the name of the Lord.”

²⁰⁹ tn Or “Maker.”

²¹⁰ sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.

²¹¹ 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.

²¹² tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”

²¹³ tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”

²¹⁴ tn Or “but.”

²¹⁵ tn Heb “I make level and make quiet my soul.”

²¹⁶ tn Heb “like a weaned [one] upon his mother.”

²¹⁷ tn Heb “like the weaned [one] upon me, my soul.”

²¹⁸ sn Psalm 138. The psalmist vows to thank the Lord for his deliverance and protection.

²¹⁹ tn The referent of the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is unclear. It refers either to the angelic assembly (see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5) or to the pagan gods (see Pss 82:1, 6; 86:8; 97:7), in which case the psalmist’s praise takes on a polemical tone.

²²⁰ tc The MT reads, “for you have made great over all your name your word.” If retained, this must mean that God's mighty intervention, in fulfillment of his word of promise, surpassed anything he had done prior to this. However, the statement is odd and several emendations have been proposed. Some read, “for you have exalted over everything your name and your word,” while others suggest, “for you have exalted over all the heavens your name and your word.” The translation assumes an emendation of “your name” to “your heavens” (a construction that appears in Pss 8:3 and 144:5). The point is that God has been faithful to his promise and the reliability of that promise is apparent to all. For a fuller discussion of these options, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 244.

²²¹ tn Heb “in the day.”

²²² tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”

²²³ tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in the following verse are understood as jussives, for the psalmist appears to be calling upon the kings to praise God. Another option is to take them as imperfects and translate, “the kings of the earth will give thanks…and will sing.” In this case the psalmist anticipates a universal response to his thanksgiving song.

²²⁴ tn Heb “the words of your mouth.”

²²⁵ tn Heb “ways.”

²²⁶ tn Heb “great.”

²²⁷ tn Or “distress.”

²²⁸ tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”

²²⁹ tn Heb “avenges on my behalf.” For the meaning “to avenge” for the verb גָּמַר (gamar), see HALOT 197-98 s.v. גמר.

²³⁰ tn Heb “the works of your hands.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular, “work of your hands.”

²³¹ sn Psalm 139. The psalmist acknowledges that God, who created him, is aware of his every action and thought. He invites God to examine his motives, for he is confident they are pure.

²³² tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

²³³ tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).

²³⁴ tn Heb “all my ways.”

²³⁵ tn Or “for.”

²³⁶ tn Heb “look, O Lord, you know all of it.”

²³⁷ tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”

²³⁸ tn Heb “Where can I go from your spirit, and where from your face can I flee?” God’s “spirit” may refer here (1) to his presence (note the parallel term, “your face,” and see Ps 104:29-30, where God’s “face” is his presence and his “spirit” is the life-giving breath he imparts) or (2) to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

²³⁹ tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).

²⁴⁰ tn Heb “look, you.”

²⁴¹ tn Heb “rise up.”

²⁴² sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.

²⁴³ tn Heb “at the end.”

²⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.

²⁴⁵ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”

²⁴⁶ tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

²⁴⁷ tn Heb “shines like.”

²⁴⁸ tn Heb “like darkness, like light.”

²⁴⁹ tn Or “for.”

²⁵⁰ tn Heb “my kidneys.” The kidneys were sometimes viewed as the seat of one’s emotions and moral character (cf. Pss 7:9; 26:2). A number of translations, recognizing that “kidneys” does not communicate this idea to the modern reader, have generalized the concept: “inmost being” (NAB, NIV); “inward parts” (NASB, NRSV); “the delicate, inner parts of my body” (NLT). In the last instance, the focus is almost entirely on the physical body rather than the emotions or moral character. The present translation, by using a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms), links the concepts of emotion (heart) and moral character (mind).

²⁵¹ tn The Hebrew verb סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “to weave together”) is an alternate form of שָׂכַךְ (sakhakh, “to weave”) used in Job 10:11.

²⁵² tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).

²⁵³ tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.

²⁵⁴ tc The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) should probably be emended to כֲּאַשֶׁר (ka’asher, “when”). The kaf (כ) may have been lost by haplography (note the kaf at the end of the preceding form).

²⁵⁵ sn The phrase depths of the earth may be metaphorical (euphemistic) or it may reflect a prescientific belief about the origins of the embryo deep beneath the earth’s surface (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 96-97). Job 1:21 also closely associates the mother’s womb with the earth.

²⁵⁶ tn Heb “Your eyes saw my shapeless form.” The Hebrew noun גֹּלֶם (golem) occurs only here in the OT. In later Hebrew the word refers to “a lump, a shapeless or lifeless substance,” and to “unfinished matter, a vessel wanting finishing” (Jastrow 222 s.v. גּוֹלֶם). The translation employs the dynamic rendering “when I was inside the womb” to clarify that the speaker was still in his mother’s womb at the time he was “seen” by God.

²⁵⁷ tn Heb “and on your scroll all of them were written, [the] days [which] were formed, and [there was] not one among them.” This “scroll” may be the “scroll of life” mentioned in Ps 69:28 (see the note on the word “living” there).

²⁵⁸ tn Heb “and to me how precious are your thoughts, O God.” The Hebrew verb יָקַר (yaqar) probably has the sense of “difficult [to comprehend]” here (see HALOT 432 s.v. יקר qal.1 and note the use of Aramaic יַקִּר in Dan 2:11). Elsewhere in the immediate context the psalmist expresses his amazement at the extent of God’s knowledge about him (see vv. 1-6, 17b-18).

²⁵⁹ tn Heb “how vast are their heads.” Here the Hebrew word “head” is used of the “sum total” of God’s knowledge of the psalmist.

²⁶⁰ tc Heb “I awake and I [am] still with you.” A reference to the psalmist awaking from sleep makes little, if any, sense contextually. For this reason some propose an emendation to הֲקִצּוֹתִי (haqitsoti), a Hiphil perfect form from an otherwise unattested verb קָצַץ (qatsats) understood as a denominative of קֵץ (qets, “end”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252-53.

²⁶¹ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).

²⁶² tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”

²⁶³ tn Heb “who.”

²⁶⁴ tc Heb “they speak [of] you.” The suffixed form of the verb אָמַר (’amar, “to speak”) is peculiar. The translation assumes an emendation to יַמְרֻךָ (yamrukha), a Hiphil form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”; see Ps 78:40).

²⁶⁵ tn Heb “by deceit.”

²⁶⁶ tc Heb “lifted up for emptiness, your cities.” The Hebrew text as it stands makes no sense. The form נָשֻׂא (nasu’; a Qal passive participle) should be emended to נָשְׂאוּ (nosÿu; a Qal perfect, third common plural, “[they] lift up”). Many emend עָרֶיךָ (’arekha, “your cities”) to עָלֶיךָ (’alekha, “against you”), but it is preferable to understand the noun as an Aramaism and translate “your enemies” (see Dan 4:16 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 253).

²⁶⁷ tc Heb “who raise themselves up against you.” The form וּבִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvitqomÿmekha) should be emended to וּבְמִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvÿmitqomÿmekha), a Hitpolel participle (the prefixed mem [מ] of the participle is accidentally omitted in the MT, though a few medieval Hebrew mss have it).

²⁶⁸ tn Heb “[with] completeness of hatred I hate them.”

²⁶⁹ tn Heb “and know my heart.”

²⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.

²⁷¹ 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.

²⁷² tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

²⁷³ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

²⁷⁴ tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

²⁷⁵ tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

²⁷⁶ tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”

²⁷⁷ tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.

²⁷⁸ tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

²⁷⁹ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

²⁸⁰ tn Heb “under.”

²⁸¹ tn Heb “hands.”

²⁸² tn Heb “to push down my steps.”

²⁸³ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).

²⁸⁴ tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”

²⁸⁵ tn Heb “cover.”

²⁸⁶ tn Heb “do not grant the desires of the wicked.”

²⁸⁷ tn Heb “his.” The singular is used in a representative sense (see v. 1).

²⁸⁸ tn Heb “his plot do not promote, they rise up.” The translation understands the final verb as being an unmarked temporal clause. Another option is to revocalize the verb as a Hiphil and take the verb with the next verse, “those who surround me lift up [their] head,” which could refer to their proud attitude as they anticipate victory (see Ps 27:6).

²⁸⁹ tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.

²⁹⁰ tn The verb form in the Kethib (consonantal Hebrew text) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוּט (mut, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in Ps 55:3, where it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). In Ps 140:10 the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read.

²⁹¹ tn Heb “into bottomless pits, they will not arise.” The translation assumes that the preposition -בְּ (bet) has the nuance “from” here. Another option is to connect the line with what precedes, take the final clause as an asyndetic relative clause, and translate, “into bottomless pits [from which] they cannot arise.” The Hebrew noun מַהֲמֹרָה (mahamorah, “bottomless pit”) occurs only here in the OT.

²⁹² tn Heb “a man of a tongue.”

²⁹³ tn Heb “be established in.”

²⁹⁴ tn Heb “for blows.” The Hebrew noun מַדְחֵפֹה (madkhefoh, “blow”) occurs only here in the OT.

²⁹⁵ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading a first person verb form here. The Kethib reads the second person.

²⁹⁶ tn Heb “and the just cause of the poor.”

²⁹⁷ sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.

²⁹⁸ tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

²⁹⁹ tn Heb “door.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

³⁰⁰ sn My mouth…my lips. The psalmist asks God to protect him from speaking inappropriately or sinfully.

³⁰¹ tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”

³⁰² tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”

³⁰³ sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.

³⁰⁴ tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.

³⁰⁵ sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.

³⁰⁶ tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.

³⁰⁷ tn Heb “they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. “Their judges” could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.

³⁰⁸ tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the verb “will listen,” and “my words” are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the phrase “are pleasant.” The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished.

³⁰⁹ tn Heb “like splitting and breaking open in the earth.” The meaning of the statement and the point of the comparison are not entirely clear. Perhaps the psalmist is suggesting that he and other godly individuals are as good as dead; their bones are scattered about like dirt that is dug up and tossed aside.

³¹⁰ tn Heb “my eyes [are] toward you.”

³¹¹ tn Heb “do not lay bare my life.” Only here is the Piel form of the verb collocated with the term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”). In Isa 53:12 the Lord’s servant “lays bare (the Hiphil form of the verb is used) his life to death.”

³¹² tn Heb “and the traps of the doers of evil.”

³¹³ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, “the wicked will fall.”

³¹⁴ tn Heb “his.”

³¹⁵ tn Heb “at the same [that] I, until I pass by.” Another option is to take יַחַד (yakhad) with the preceding line, “let the wicked fall together into their own nets.”

³¹⁶ sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

³¹⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

³¹⁸ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.

³¹⁹ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I cry out.”

³²⁰ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I plead for mercy.”

³²¹ tn Heb “my trouble before him I declare.”

³²² tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

³²³ tn Heb “you know my path.”

³²⁴ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

³²⁵ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

³²⁶ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”

³²⁷ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

³²⁸ tn Heb “for I am very low.”

³²⁹ tn Heb “bring out my life.”

³³⁰ tn Or “gather around.”

³³¹ tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.

³³² sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

³³³ tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”

³³⁴ tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”

³³⁵ tn Or “for.”

³³⁶ tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).

³³⁷ tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

³³⁸ tn Or “sit.”

³³⁹ sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).

³⁴⁰ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

³⁴¹ tn Heb “in my midst my heart is shocked.” For a similar use of the Hitpolel of שָׁמֵם (shamem), see Isa 59:16; 63:5.

³⁴² tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

³⁴³ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

³⁴⁴ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

³⁴⁵ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

³⁴⁶ tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

³⁴⁷ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

³⁴⁸ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

³⁴⁹ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

³⁵⁰ tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.

³⁵¹ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).

³⁵² sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

³⁵³ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).

³⁵⁴ tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nastiy, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of kaf (כ) and nun (נ) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (’el, “to”) is well-attested.

³⁵⁵ tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.

³⁵⁶ tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

³⁵⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

³⁵⁸ sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.

³⁵⁹ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

³⁶⁰ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

³⁶¹ tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”

³⁶² tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”

³⁶³ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect.

³⁶⁴ tn Heb “all the enemies of my life.”

³⁶⁵ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

³⁶⁶ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

³⁶⁷ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

³⁶⁸ sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

³⁶⁹ tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).

³⁷⁰ tn Or “my elevated place.”

³⁷¹ tn Heb “the one who subdues nations beneath me.”

³⁷² tn Heb “What is mankind?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race. See Ps 8:5.

³⁷³ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

³⁷⁴ tn Heb “take account of him.” The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

³⁷⁵ tn Heb “man,” or “mankind.”

³⁷⁶ tn Heb “his days [are] like a shadow that passes away,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.

³⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “to [cause to] bend; to [cause to] bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm. See Ps 18:9.

³⁷⁸ tn Heb “so you might come down.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The same type of construction is utilized in v. 6.

³⁷⁹ tn Heb “so they might smolder.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative.

³⁸⁰ sn Arrows and lightning bolts are associated in other texts (see Pss 18:14; 77:17-18; Zech 9:14), as well as in ancient Near Eastern art (see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” [Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983], 187).

³⁸¹ tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”

³⁸² tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).

³⁸³ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”

³⁸⁴ tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” The reference to the “right hand” is probably a metonymy for an oath. When making an oath, one would raise the hand as a solemn gesture. See Exod 6:8; Num 14:30; Deut 32:40. The figure thus represents the making of false oaths (false promises).

³⁸⁵ tn Heb “grants deliverance to.”

³⁸⁶ tn Heb “harmful.”

³⁸⁷ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”

³⁸⁸ tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” See v. 8 where the same expression occurs.

³⁸⁹ tn Some consider אֲשֶׁר (’asher) problematic, but here it probably indicates the anticipated consequence of the preceding request. (For other examples of אֲשֶׁר indicating purpose/result, see BDB 83 s.v. and HALOT 99 s.v.) If the psalmist – who appears to be a Davidic king preparing to fight a battle (see vv. 10-11) – is victorious, the whole nation will be spared invasion and defeat (see v. 14) and can flourish. Some prefer to emend the form to אַשְׁרֵי (“how blessed [are our sons]”). A suffixed noun sometimes follows אַשְׁרֵי (’ashrey; see 1 Kgs 10:8; Prov 20:7), but the presence of a comparative element (see “like plants”) after the suffixed noun makes the proposed reading too awkward syntactically.

³⁹⁰ tn Heb “grown up in their youth.” The translation assumes that “grown up” modifies “plants” (just as “carved” modifies “corner pillars” in the second half of the verse). Another option is to take “grown up” as a predicate in relation to “our sons,” in which case one might translate, “they will be strapping youths.”

³⁹¹ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Zech 9:15, where it refers to the corners of an altar.

³⁹² tn Heb “carved [in] the pattern of a palace.”

³⁹³ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

³⁹⁴ tn Heb “from kind to kind.” Some prefer to emend the text to מָזוֹן עַל מָזוֹן (mazon ’al mazon, “food upon food”).

³⁹⁵ tn Heb “they are innumerable.”

³⁹⁶ tn Heb “in outside places.” Here the term refers to pastures and fields (see Job 5:10; Prov 8:26).

³⁹⁷ tn Heb “weighted down.” This probably refers (1) to the cattle having the produce from the harvest placed on their backs to be transported to the storehouses (see BDB 687 s.v. סָבַל). Other options are (2) to take this as reference to the cattle being pregnant (see HALOT 741 s.v. סבל pu) or (3) to their being well-fed or fattened (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 288).

³⁹⁸ tn Heb “there [will be] no breach, and there [will be] no going out, and there [will be] no crying out in our broad places.”

³⁹⁹ tn Heb “[O] the happiness of the people who [it is] such to them.”

⁴⁰⁰ sn Psalm 145. The psalmist praises God because he is a just and merciful king who cares for his people.

⁴⁰¹ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

⁴⁰² tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

⁴⁰³ tn Heb “and concerning his greatness there is no searching.”

⁴⁰⁴ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may one generation praise…and tell about.”

⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “the splendor of the glory of your majesty, and the matters of your amazing deeds I will ponder.”

⁴⁰⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as an imperfect, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they proclaim.”

⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “the fame of the greatness of your goodness.”

⁴⁰⁸ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 7 are understood as imperfects, indicating how the psalmist expects his audience to respond to his praise. Another option is to take the forms as jussives, indicating the psalmist’s wish, “may they talk…and sing.”

⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Pss 86:15; 103:8).

⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Pss 86:15; 103:8).

⁴¹¹ tn Heb “and his compassion is over all his works.”

⁴¹² tn Heb “the sons of man.”

⁴¹³ tn Heb “a kingdom of all ages.”

⁴¹⁴ tc Psalm 145 is an acrostic psalm, with each successive verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. However, in the traditional Hebrew (Masoretic) text of Psalm 145 there is no verse beginning with the letter nun. One would expect such a verse to appear as the fourteenth verse, between the mem (מ) and samek (ס) verses. Several ancient witnesses, including one medieval Hebrew manuscript, the Qumran scroll from cave 11, the LXX, and the Syriac, supply the missing nun (נ) verse, which reads as follows: “The Lord is reliable in all his words, and faithful in all his deeds.” One might paraphrase this as follows: “The Lord’s words are always reliable; his actions are always faithful.” Scholars are divided as to the originality of this verse. L. C. Allen argues for its inclusion on the basis of structural considerations (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 294-95), but there is no apparent explanation for why, if original, it would have been accidentally omitted. The psalm may be a partial acrostic, as in Pss 25 and 34 (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:335). The glaring omission of the nun line would have invited a later redactor to add such a line.

⁴¹⁵ tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).

⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “the eyes of all wait for you.”

⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “and you give to them their food in its season” (see Ps 104:27).

⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “[with what they] desire.”

⁴¹⁹ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

⁴²⁰ tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”

⁴²¹ tn Heb “in truth.”

⁴²² tn In this context “desire” refers to the followers’ desire to be delivered from wicked enemies.

⁴²³ tn Heb “the desire of those who fear him, he does.”

⁴²⁴ tn Heb “the praise of the Lord my mouth will speak.”

⁴²⁵ tn Heb “all flesh.”