¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

² tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.

³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) 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.

⁹ tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).

¹⁰ tn Heb “I stray like a lost sheep.” It is possible that the point of the metaphor is vulnerability: The psalmist, who is threatened by his enemies, feels as vulnerable as a straying, lost sheep. This would not suggest, however, that he has wandered from God’s path (see the second half of the verse, as well as v. 110).