¹ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

² tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

³ tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”

⁴ tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

⁵ tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”

⁶ tn The perfect verbal form probably has a present perfect nuance here. It refers to the continuing effects of God’s original mandate (see Gen 1:26-30).

⁷ tn Heb “under his feet.”

sn Placed everything under their authority. This verse affirms that mankind rules over God’s creation as his vice-regent. See Gen 1:26-30.

⁸ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

⁹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

sn Taken shelter. “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 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

¹¹ tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).

¹² tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”

¹³ tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.

¹⁴ tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”

¹⁵ tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.

¹⁶ tn Heb “my voice.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “be a helper to me.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “they repay me evil instead of good.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “[there is] bereavement to my soul.”

²⁰ tn Heb “because you acted.” The psalmist has in mind God’s disciplinary measures (see vv. 10-13).

²¹ tn Heb “remove from upon me your wound.”

²² tn Heb “from the hostility of your hand I have come to an end.”

²³ tn Heb “one God spoke, two which I heard.” This is a numerical saying utilizing the “x” followed by “x + 1” pattern to facilitate poetic parallelism. (See W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament [VTSup], 55-56.) As is typical in such sayings, a list corresponding to the second number (in this case “two”) follows. Another option is to translate, “God has spoken once, twice [he has spoken] that which I have heard.” The terms אַחַת (’akhat, “one; once”) and שְׁתַּיִם (shÿtayim, “two; twice”) are also juxtaposed in 2 Kgs 6:10 (where they refer to an action that was done more than “once or twice”) and in Job 33:14 (where they refer to God speaking “one way” and then in “another manner”).

²⁴ tn Heb “that strength [belongs] to God.”

²⁵ tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

²⁶ tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

²⁷ tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

²⁸ tn Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”

²⁹ sn Psalm 71. The psalmist prays for divine intervention and expresses his confidence that God will protect and vindicate him. The first three verses are very similar to Ps 31:1-3a.

³⁰ tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.

³¹ tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.

³² tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.

³³ tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.

³⁴ tn Heb “you have made us an object of contention to our neighbors.”

³⁵ tn Or “show me favor.”

³⁶ 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.

³⁷ tn Or “lie to.”

³⁸ tn The Hebrew construction (conjunction + pronoun, followed by the verb) draws attention to the contrast between what follows and what precedes.

³⁹ tn Heb “your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 132:10, 17).

⁴⁰ tn Heb “you have lifted up the right hand of his adversaries.” The idiom “the right hand is lifted up” refers to victorious military deeds (see Pss 89:13; 118:16).

⁴¹ 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.

⁴² 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.

⁴³ tn Heb “and you have not caused him to stand in the battle.”

⁴⁴ tn Heb “for you, the Lord, my shelter, the Most High, you have made your dwelling place.”

⁴⁵ tn Heb “from antiquity [are] you.” As the context suggests, this refers specifically to God’s royal position, not his personal existence.

⁴⁶ 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).

⁴⁷ tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.

⁴⁸ tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”

⁴⁹ tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).

⁵⁰ tn Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”

⁵¹ tn Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”

⁵² tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

⁵³ tn Heb “that your hand [is] this.”

⁵⁴ tn Heb “of your mouth.”

⁵⁵ tn Heb “songs were your statutes to me.”

⁵⁶ tn Heb “in the house of my dwelling place.” Some take the Hebrew noun מָגוֹר (magor) in the sense of “temporary abode,” and see this as a reference to the psalmist’s status as a resident alien (see v. 19). But the noun can refer to a dwelling place in general (see Ps 55:15).

⁵⁷ tn Heb “my portion [is] the Lord.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel (see Ps 16:5).

⁵⁸ tn Heb “I said.”

⁵⁹ tn Heb “to keep your words” (see v. 9).

⁶⁰ tn Heb “I appease your face.”

⁶¹ tn Heb “according to your word.”

⁶² tn Heb “for [with] falsehood they have denied me justice.”

⁶³ tn Heb “according to.”

⁶⁴ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

⁶⁵ tn Heb “of your mouth.”

⁶⁶ tn Heb “if your law had not been my delight.”

⁶⁷ tn Or “my suffering.”

⁶⁸ tn Heb “far from the wicked [is] deliverance.”

⁶⁹ tn The singular participial form probably has a representative function here. The psalmist envisions the typical hater of peace who represents the entire category of such individuals.

⁷⁰ sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.

⁷¹ 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.