¹ tn Or “wait.”

² tn Heb “keep his way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

³ tn Heb “and he will lift you up.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause following the imperatives in the preceding lines.

⁴ tn Heb “when evil men are cut off you will see.”

⁵ sn Psalm 50. This psalm takes the form of a covenant lawsuit in which the Lord comes to confront his people in a formal manner (as in Isa 1:2-20). The Lord emphasizes that he places priority on obedience and genuine worship, not empty ritual.

⁶ sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: El (אֵל [’el], or “God”), Elohim (אֱלֹהִים [’elohim], or “God”), and Yahweh (יְהוָה [yÿhvah] or “the Lord”). There is an obvious allusion here to Josh 22:22, the only other passage where these three names appear in succession. In that passage the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh declare, “El, God, the Lord! El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, don’t spare us today!” In that context the other tribes had accused the trans-Jordanian tribes of breaking God’s covenant by worshiping idols. The trans-Jordanian tribes appealed to “El, God, the Lord” as their witness that they were innocent of the charges brought against them. Ironically here in Ps 50 “El, God, the Lord” accuses his sinful covenant people of violating the covenant and warns that he will not spare them if they persist in their rebellion.

⁷ tn Heb “and calls [the] earth from the sunrise to its going.”

⁸ tn Or “if.”

⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “sheepfolds” is uncertain. There may be an echo of Judg 5:16 here.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and her pinions with the yellow of gold.”

sn The point of the imagery of v. 13 is not certain, though the reference to silver and gold appears to be positive. Both would be part of the loot carried away from battle (see v. 12b).

¹¹ tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).

¹² tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”