Discovery BoxPsalms 16:10 
Context16:10 You will not abandon me 1 to Sheol; 2
you will not allow your faithful follower 3 to see 4 the Pit. 5
Psalms 36:8
Context36:8 They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
Psalms 37:33
Context37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. 6
Psalms 41:12
Context41:12 As for me, you uphold 7 me because of my integrity; 8
you allow 9 me permanent access to your presence. 10
Psalms 55:22
Context55:22 Throw your burden 11 upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you. 12
He will never allow the godly to be upended. 13
Psalms 107:38
Context107:38 He blessed 14 them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. 15
1 tn Or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
2 sn In ancient Israelite cosmology Sheol is the realm of the dead, viewed as being under the earth’s surface. See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 165-76.
3 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד [khasid], traditionally rendered “holy one”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10). The psalmist here refers to himself, as the parallel line (“You will not abandon me to Sheol”) indicates.
4 tn That is, “experience.” The psalmist is confident that the Lord will protect him in his present crisis (see v. 1) and prevent him from dying.
sn According to Peter, the words of Ps 16:8-11 are applicable to Jesus (Acts 2:25-29). Peter goes on to argue that David, being a prophet, foresaw future events and spoke of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:30-33). Paul seems to concur with Peter in this understanding (see Acts 13:35-37). For a discussion of the NT application of these verses to Jesus’ resurrection, see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “A Theology of the Psalms,” A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, 292-95.
5 tn The Hebrew word שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 30:9; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4). Note the parallelism with the previous line.
6 tn Heb “the
7 tn Or “have upheld.” The perfect verbal form can be taken as generalizing/descriptive (present) or as a present perfect.
8 sn Because of my integrity. See Pss 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11.
9 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect. It is either generalizing/descriptive (present) or has a present perfect nuance (“you have allowed”).
10 tn Heb “and you cause me to stand before you permanently.”
11 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.
12 tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.
13 tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”
14 tn “Bless” here carries the nuance “endue with sexual potency, make fertile.” See Gen 1:28, where the statement “he blessed them” directly precedes the command “be fruitful and populate the earth” (see also 1:22). The verb “bless” carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).
15 tn The verbal form in this line appears to be an imperfect, which may be taken as customary (drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame) or as generalizing (in which case one should use the English present tense, understanding a move from narrative to present reality).
