¹ tn Heb “Refrain from anger! Abandon rage!”

³ tn Or “So he refrained from killing them”; Heb “he refrained and did not kill them.”

² tn Heb “Refrain your voice from crying and your eyes from tears.”

¹ tn Heb “Refrain your feet from being bare and your throat from being dry/thirsty.”

² tn Heb “cessation” (שֶׁבֶת, shevet); NAB “to shun strife”; NRSV “refrain from strife.”

¹ tn The refrain is repeated, except now the verb is תָּבוֹא (tavoʾ, “come”).

¹ tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

¹ tn Heb “Should I go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

¹ tn Perhaps this refers to the refrain of their songs of praise (see Ps 136). In this case one could translate, “to give thanks to the Lord with songs using the refrain, ‘For his loyal love endures.’”

² sn The participle חוֹשֵׂךְ (khosekh) means “withholds; restrains; refrains; spares; holds in check,” etc. One who has knowledge speaks carefully.

¹ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him”—refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

² sn The refrain of innocence comes once again. Pilate tried to bring some sense of justice, believing Jesus had committed no crime deserving death.

¹ sn See 5:9, 29. This is somewhat of a refrain at the end of a catalog of Judah’s sins.

¹ sn These words are repeated from 5:9 to give a kind of refrain justifying again the necessity of punishment in the light of such sins.

³ sn I am unable to eat food. During his time of mourning, the psalmist refrained from eating. In the following verse he describes metaphorically the physical effects of fasting.

¹ sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

² sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

⁴ sn Using the poetic device of inclusio, the psalmist ends the psalm the way he began it. The concluding refrain is identical to v. 1.

¹ sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.

¹ sn Psalm 136. In this hymn the psalmist affirms that God is praiseworthy because of his enduring loyal love, sovereign authority, and compassion. Each verse of the psalm concludes with the refrain “for his loyal love endures.”