¹ tn Heb “despised in his eyes [is] a rejected [one].” The Hebrew term נִמְאָס (nim’as, “rejected [one]”) apparently refers here to one who has been rejected by God because of his godless behavior. It stands in contrast to “those who fear God” in the following line.

² tn Heb “those who fear the Lord.” The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.

³ tn Heb “he takes an oath to do harm and does not change.” The phrase “to do harm” cannot mean “do harm to others,” for the preceding verse clearly characterizes this individual as one who does not harm others. In this context the phrase must refer to an oath to which a self-imprecation is attached. The godly individual takes his commitments to others so seriously he is willing to “swear to his own hurt.” For an example of such an oath, see Ruth 1:16-17.

⁴ tn Heb “[you] fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.

⁵ tn Heb “fear him.”

⁶ tn Heb “from with you [is] my praise.”

⁷ tn Heb “my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.” When asking the Lord for help, the psalmists would typically promise to praise the Lord publicly if he intervened and delivered them.

⁸ tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”

⁹ tn Heb “for those who fear you.”

¹⁰ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 34:21-22).

¹¹ tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”

¹² tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

¹³ tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.

¹⁴ tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.

¹⁵ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.

¹⁶ tn Or “protected forever.”

¹⁷ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

¹⁸ tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.

¹⁹ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

²⁰ tn Or “for.”

²¹ tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

²² tn Or “wait.”

²³ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

²⁴ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

²⁵ tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”

²⁶ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

²⁷ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

²⁸ tn Heb “Look.”

²⁹ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

³⁰ tn Heb “Cush.”

³¹ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

³² tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.

³³ tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).

³⁴ tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”

³⁵ tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”

³⁶ tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the Lord.” In this case one could translate, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, the one who protects the lives…and delivers them.”

³⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

³⁸ sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.

³⁹ 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.

⁴⁰ tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”

⁴¹ tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”

⁴² tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

⁴³ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.

⁴⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁵ tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”

⁴⁶ tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).