¹ sn The nature of the acrostic changes here. Each of the three lines in each verse, not just the first, begins with the corresponding letter of the alphabet.

² sn It should be noted once again that the reference is to all Israel, not just to Judah (cf. Jer 23:5-6; 30:9).

¹ tn Heb “But thus says the Lord about.” The words “just listen to what” are supplied in the translation to help show the connection with the preceding.

³ tn Heb “Like this I will break this people and this city, just as one breaks the vessel of a potter that is not able to be repaired.”

¹ tn Heb “Have you not just now called out to me, ‘[You are] My father!’?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer.

¹ tn Heb “and there will not be from there again a nursing infant of days,” i.e., one that lives just a few days.

² tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.

² tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

³ tn The phrase “just as” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

³ sn The wicked may go hungry, or lack all they desire, just as the first colon may mean that what the righteous acquire proves satisfying to them.

¹ tn The imperative of בִּין (bin) means “to understand; to discern.” The call is for the simple to understand what wisdom is, not just to gain it.

⁶ tn Heb “without cause” (so KJV, NASB); NCV “just for fun.” The term חִנָּם (khinnam, “without cause”) emphasizes that the planned attack is completely unwarranted.

¹ sn Psalm 146. The psalmist urges his audience not to trust in men, but in the Lord, the just king of the world who cares for the needy.

¹ sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.

² sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

¹ sn Psalm 97. The psalmist depicts the Lord as the sovereign, just king of the world who comes in power to vindicate his people.

¹ sn Psalm 75. The psalmist celebrates God’s just rule, which guarantees that the godly will be vindicated and the wicked destroyed.

⁶ tn Heb “my tongue [is] a stylus of a skillful scribe.” Words flow from the psalmist’s tongue just as they do from a scribe’s stylus.

¹ sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.

³ tn The word was just used in the positive sense of excellence or majesty; now the exalted nature of the person refers to self-exaltation, or pride.