Discovery BoxPsalms 116:1-19 
Context116:1 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy, 2
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 4
116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, 5
the snares 6 of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted 7 with trouble and sorrow.
116:4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please Lord, rescue my life!”
116:5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
116:6 The Lord protects 8 the untrained; 9
I was in serious trouble 10 and he delivered me.
116:7 Rest once more, my soul, 11
for the Lord has vindicated you. 12
116:8 Yes, 13 Lord, 14 you rescued my life from death,
and kept my feet from stumbling.
116:9 I will serve 15 the Lord
in the land 16 of the living.
116:10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
“All men are liars.”
116:12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
116:13 I will celebrate my deliverance, 18
and call on the name of the Lord.
116:14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
116:15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers. 19
116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your lowest slave. 20
You saved me from death. 21
116:17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
116:18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
116:19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
1 sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.
2 tn Heb “I love because the
3 tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”
4 tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”
5 tn Heb “surrounded me.”
6 tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.
7 tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.
8 tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the
9 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.
10 tn Heb “I was low.”
11 tn Heb “return, my soul, to your place of rest.”
12 tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense (cf. Ps 13:5).
13 tn Or “for.”
14 tn “
15 tn Heb “walk before” (see Ps 56:13). On the meaning of the Hebrew idiom, see the notes at 2 Kgs 20:3/Isa 38:3.
16 tn Heb “lands, regions.”
17 tn Heb “I said in my haste.”
18 tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the
19 tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the
20 tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) 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
21 tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).
