¹ tn Heb “God (the divine name אֵל [’el] is used) is angry during all the day.” The verb זֹעֵם (zo’em) means “be indignant, be angry, curse.” Here God’s angry response to wrongdoing and injustice leads him to prepare to execute judgment as described in the following verses.

² tn Heb “for you accomplished my justice and my legal claim.”

³ tn Heb “you sat on a throne [as] one who judges [with] righteousness.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 4 probably allude to a recent victory (see vv. 5-7). Another option is to understand the verbs as describing what is typical (“you defend…you sit on a throne”).

⁴ tn Heb “measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant [places]; yes, property [or “an inheritance”] is beautiful for me.” On the dative use of עַל, see BDB 758 s.v. II.8. Extending the metaphor used in v. 5, the psalmist compares the divine blessings he has received to a rich, beautiful tract of land that one might receive by allotment or inheritance.

⁵ tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.

⁶ tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.

⁷ tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.

⁸ tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.

⁹ tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

¹¹ tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

¹² sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.

¹³ tn Or “meet him [with].”

¹⁴ tn Heb “good.”

¹⁵ sn You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God’s “blessings” include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).

¹⁶ sn For the Lord’s decrees are just… After the call to praise (vv. 1-3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.

¹⁷ tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.

¹⁸ tn Or “upright.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”

²⁰ tn Heb “and to you, O Master, [is] loyal love.”

²¹ tn Heb “for you pay back to a man according to his deed.” Another option is to understand vv. 11b and 12a as the first principle and v. 12b as the second. In this case one might translate, “God has declared one principle, two principles I have heard, namely, that God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love, and that you repay men for what they do.”

sn You repay men for what they do. The psalmist views God’s justice as a demonstration of both his power (see v. 11c) and his loyal love (see v. 12a). When God judges evildoers, he demonstrates loyal love to his people.

²² tn Heb “man.”

²³ tn Heb “he sustains his matters with justice.”

²⁴ tn In this context (note the second line) the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim), which so often refers to the regulations of God’s law elsewhere in this psalm, may refer instead to his decisions or disciplinary judgment.

²⁵ tn Heb “and [in] faithfulness you afflicted me.”

²⁶ tn Heb “do justice and righteousness.”

²⁷ tn Heb “just are your rules forever.”

²⁸ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.